Longhurst & v Hunt

(2004) 42 MVR 267; [2004] NSWCA 91

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Tort Law
2. › Motor vehicle accident
3. › Liability
4. › Credibility of witnesses
5. › Trial judge's assessment of witness credibility
6. › Whether entitled to reject defendant's evidence and prefer plaintiff's account
1. Evidence
2. › Admissibility
3. › Hearsay
4. › First-hand hearsay exception
5. › Witness not available
6. › Whether all reasonable steps taken to compel attendance
7. › Whether statements properly excluded under s135 Evidence Act 1995
8. › Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 63, 135
1. Motor Accidents Compensation
2. › Non-economic loss
3. › Threshold for entitlement
4. › Degree of permanent impairment
5. › Whether psychiatric/psychological injury impairment can be aggregated with physical injury impairment to exceed 10% threshold
6. › Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW), ss 131, 133(3)
1. Damages
2. › Economic loss
3. › Pre-injury earning capacity
4. › Residual earning capacity
5. › Casual versus permanent employment

Quick Take

Under s133(3) of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999, psychiatric/psychological injury impairment cannot be aggregated with physical injury impairment to exceed the 10% threshold for non-economic loss under s131. However, if either category of impairment independently exceeds the threshold, the other may be taken into account in quantifying non-economic loss damages. The question of aggregation for quantification purposes once the threshold is independently met was left open as obiter.