Watters v Queensland Rail

[2000] QCA 51

Queensland Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Limitation of Actions
2. › Postponement of the bar
3. › Extension of period
4. › Cause of action in respect of personal injuries
5. › Knowledge of material facts
6. › Material facts of a decisive character
7. › Whether economic consequences of injury capable of being material fact
8. › Whether employer's change in enforcement of safety standards constitutes material fact relating to right of action
9. › Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), ss 30(1), 31(1), 31(2)
1. Limitation of Actions
2. › Postponement of the bar
3. › Extension of period
4. › Whether worthwhile cause of action existed before economic loss incurred
5. › Nature and extent of personal injury
6. › Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), s 30(1)(a)(iv), s 30(1)(b)
1. Limitation of Actions
2. › Postponement of the bar
3. › Extension of period
4. › Prejudice to defendant
5. › Destruction of personnel records
6. › Whether prejudice sufficient to warrant discretionary refusal of extension

Quick Take

Economic consequences of personal injury, including the fact that an injury renders a plaintiff unsuitable for their former employment, are capable of constituting 'material facts of a decisive character' under s 30(1) of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld). The restrictive interpretation adopted by the NSW Court of Appeal in Plumb, which excluded employer policy changes from the concept of material facts relating to the right of action, does not represent the law in Queensland. The concept of 'nature and extent of the personal injury' in s 30(1)(a)(iv) is not limited to medical concepts but encompasses economic effects of the injury.