Psychological and Psychiatric Injuries: Medical Evidence & Workplace Injuries
"Issues covered include: nervous shock, impairment, DSM5, causation, psychological health at work, psychiatric injury litigation, case update, proving psychological injury
Description
Explore nervous shock claims with highly regarded medical and legal experts. Then take an in depth look at the increasingly significant interplay between psychological health and the workplace. Finally, catch up on the most important cases you need to know for your matters and examine precisely what strategies & evidence you need to prove psychiatric injury and resulting damages. The level of up to date knowledge and skill required to meet your client’s needs should never be underestimated, so make sure you’re up to the task.
Attend and earn 4 CPD points including:
3.5 points in Competency Area 4: Substantive Law
0.5 points in Competency Area 2: Professional Skills
This program is based on WA legislation
Chair: Leanne Bishop, Partner, O'Sullivan Partners Lawyers
Professional Skills
9.00am to 10.00am: Medical and Legal Perspectives - Nervous Shock Claims
Assessment of Impairment in Nervous Shock: Where Experts Might Disagree
- Nervous shock vs the DSM 5 diagnostic system
- The psychiatric assessment of nervous shock claims
- Determining causation
Presented by Dr Victor Cheng, Psychiatrist
Assessing Common Law Claims for Nervous Shock: General Principles
- Assessing and preparing claims for pure mental harm
- Re-examine the fundamental elements of:
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Damages
Presented by Laura Angel, Practice Group Leader, Civic Legal
10.00am to 11.00am: Psychological Health at Work: Employment and Safety Law Issues
Australia's employment and safety laws increasingly recognise the issue of employee mental health. You need to be aware of:
- The changed approach from the Fair Work Commission and the courts to the obligations on employers to protect employees mental health
- The increased role of safety laws and the regulators current focus in regulating employee mental health at work
- What steps can employers take when claims relating to psychological health are raised?
- Discussion of some recent cases that show the complexity of trying to manage these issues in the workplace and what steps the employers should have taken
Presented by Erica Hartley, Partner, HWL Ebsworth
11.00am to 11.15am: Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm: Psychiatric Injury Litigation Update
Examine recent decisions and developments in the law of duty of care regarding psychiatric injury, including challenges faced with common law claims and cases arising from medical negligence.
Presented by Raoul Cywicki, Barrister, Sir Clifford Grant Chambers
12.15pm to 1.15pm: Proving Psychological and Psychiatric Injury
- Medical evidence needed to support workers compensation claims
- Establishing the severity of injury and likely damages
- Understanding the process and considering exclusionary factors
- How to identify what is a pre-existing condition vs a quirky personality
Presented by Martin Dobson, Partner, Moray and Agnew