A financial adviser who undertakes to invest a client's personal injury damages and provide ongoing advice owes a duty to warn the client in clear terms about the specific risk that proposed withdrawals, borrowings, and business expenditures will deplete the capital to a level insufficient to fund the client's lifetime needs. General warnings about non-viability or the need to avoid eating into capital are insufficient. The scope of the duty is wider for inexperienced clients. The risks of capital depletion through overspending are not 'obvious risks' under s 15 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) for a young, financially inexperienced client. Section 58 of the Civil Proceedings Act 2011 (Qld) confers an uncircumscribed discretion as to the rate of pre-judgment interest, and practice directions specifying rates for default judgments do not constrain that discretion.
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