Ghassani v Napier [2017] NSWDC 130

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Ghassani v Napier [2017] NSWDC 130 Hearing dates: 6 and 7 April 2017 Date of orders: 10 April 2017 Decision date: 10 April 2017 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: P Taylor SC DCJ Decision: (1) Judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $10,120. (2) Liberty to either party to apply to my associate in respect of an order for costs. Catchwords: DAMAGES – assessment – motor vehicle accident – whiplash – prior motor vehicle accidents - pre-existing injuries – back – knees – neck – lost earning capacity – domestic assistance – medical expenses Legislation Cited: Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999, s 83 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Rabii Ghassani (plaintiff) Craig Napier (defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr J Gumbert (plaintiff) Mr D Hanna (defendant)

Solicitors: United Legal (plaintiff) Morag & Agnew (defendant) File Number(s): 2015/262954 Publication restriction: None

Judgment

A) BACKGROUND 1. Rabii Ghassani suffered a whiplash injury when the defendant's car collided with the rear of his car, when Mr Ghassani was driving on 17 July 2012. He sues for damages. Liability is admitted.

B) ISSUES 1. The assessment of Mr Ghassani's damages involves consideration of the extent of his lost earning capacity, his need for domestic assistance, and the amount of past and future medical expenses arising from the motor vehicle accident. No claim is made for non‑economic loss, as the 10% whole person impairment threshold was not satisfied. Thus, no matter what pain and suffering to Mr Ghassani has resulted from the accident, the law does not allow me to make an award in his favour under that head of damage. 2. Determining the extent of loss under these heads of damage identified, lost earning capacity, domestic assistance and medical expenses, involved two matters, the pre‑existing condition of Mr Ghassani at the time of the 2012 accident, including his condition on account of prior motor vehicle accidents, and the extent of Mr Ghassani's current disabilities.