Psychiatric Injury

• Is it time that the High Court recognises an employer’s duty of care to prevent psychiatric injury in investigative and disciplinary processes?

  23rd Oct 2024

  The latest edition of Precedent is online for members from Thursday 24 October, focusing on employment law and workers compensation. This week’s Opinion stays on theme as Travis Schultz and Aiden Warneke take a considered and detailed look at the potentially changing landscape regarding employers’ duty of care and psychiatric injury.

• Did the employer’s negligence cause the sales assistant’s psychiatric injury? Which case won?

  18th Jun 2020

  Phil Griffin explores the facts and outcomes of a recent psychiatric injury case decided in Queensland. This case highlights that the risks inherent in an employee’s role are an important consideration in determining the reasonable precautions that an employer must take to meet its duty of care to its employees.

• Queensland reforms affecting workers’ comp claims for psychological injuries

  5th Mar 2020

  Jessica Hodge explains the changes affecting workers' compensation claims for psychological injury in Queensland which commenced late last year. She argues that while the removal of ‘major’ from the required standard for a psychological injury represents a positive step for employees, particularly those with pre-existing psychological conditions, it is unlikely to result in a significant increase in the claim acceptance rate. 

• Intentional torts and certificates of assessment under the Wrongs Act

  21st Mar 2019

  Angela Sdrinis explores the effects of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) on victims of sexual assault seeking to claim pain and suffering damages, with a particular focus on the recent case of Thompson v State of Victoria [2019] VCC 166.

• Beware of failing to establish the inferential reasoning required for causation

  6th Sep 2018

  David Cormack discusses the decision and reasoning in Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd v Kim Yen Tat [2018] QCA 182.

• Mental health and the reasonable person test

  11th Jan 2018

  Historically, the law has had difficulty understanding and responding appropriately to psychiatric injuries.

• The Urogynaecological Mesh scandal

  7th Sep 2017

  Approximately 50% of women who have had children will suffer some degree of pelvic organ prolapse. For thousands of those women, urogynaecological surgical mesh has been presented as a viable option. It is only recently that public has been made aware of the associated physical and psychological complications. 

• Linton Sayer v Melsteel in the Supreme Court of Victoria, June 2017

  6th Jul 2017

  The plaintiff had been in continuous employment since the age of 16. He commenced employment with the defendant, as a boilermaker, in 2006. As and from 2008, Mr Savage became his supervisor and problems started to occur.