Personal Injury Conference
Obtain a comprehensive roundup of personal injury law developments. Walk away with the latest in public liability, serious injury claims, workers compensation, judicial review of medical panels and more. Obtain your compulsory units with sessions made for personal injury practitioners. Cover all the critical issues in practice including the ethics of polite and frank conduct, an expert witness' experience of cross examination and the concerns brought about by practicing during COVID. 223V16
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Session 1
Personal Injury Law Roundup
Chair: Rosalind Gilsenan, Special Counsel, Carter Newell
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am From Dance Floors to Drain Pipes: An Analysis of Issues and Trends Arising in Public Liability Claims
- Identifying risk and the reasonable precautions required to address it
- The role of the expert witness
- Assessing damages
Presented by David C Oldfield, Barrister, Dever’s List
9.50am to 10.35am Practical Lessons from Recent Serious Injury Judgments: Applying Observations from the Bench to Your Practice
- Improve your case preparation
- What is missing from your applications?
- What cannot be remedied?
Presented by Megan Caines, Principal, Polaris Legal
10.35am to 11.20am Development of Strategy at the Commencement of an Industrial Accident Claim
- WorkCover, common law or both?
- How best to categorise the injury?
- Strategies in the serious injury application
Presented by Jonathan Brett KC, Lennon’s List and Fiona Ryan SC, Barrister, Greens List
11.20am to 11.35am Morning Tea
11.35am to 12.20pm Workers Compensation Update
- Claims statistics
- Case management update
- COVID-19: impact on the Scheme and where to from here
Presented by Sach Fernando, Principal Lawyer, Maxiom Injury Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law; Leading Work Injury Compensation Lawyer (Plaintiff), Doyle’s Guide 2021
12.20pm to 1.05pm An Update on Judicial Review of Medical Panel Opinions: Tips, Pointers and Recent Case Update
- Overview of key principles
- Tips and pointers
- Recent case update and emerging grounds of review
Presented by Fiona Spencer, Barrister, Greens List
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
1.15pm to 2.00pm Lunch
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for Personal Injury Lawyers
Chair: Nardine Hanna, Senior Associate, Shine Lawyers
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm Polite and Frank
- Courtesy and ethics
- Assertions against lawyers
- Professional courtesy
- Conduct falling short of appropriate standards
Presented by Geraldine Collins, Principal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law
Practice Management & Business Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Managing the Change to Personal Injury Practice Brought About by COVID-19
- What are the changes?
- What are the risks?
- How should the risks be managed?
Presented by Janine McIlwraith, Principal, Margalit Lawyers; Co-author, Health Care and the Law (4th, 5th & 6th editions), Australian Medical Liability, and The National Disability Insurance Scheme Handbook; General Editor, Australian Civil Liability Bulletin
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon tea
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm THE MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE: A Psychiatric Expert Witness' Experience of Cross Examination
- The task of the expert witness
- The experience of cross examination
- Issues with regard to availability
- Conclaves and hot-tubbing
Presented by Dr Michael Epstein, Psychiatrist; Author, The Guide to Civil Psychiatric Assessment
Presenters
Rosalind Gilsenan
Rosalind has over 20 years of experience in insurance litigation advising and acting for local and international insurers, brokers, claims managers and self-insured businesses. Rosalind’s expertise include: public and product liability, medical and professional negligence, property damage including from fire and flood, institutional abuse, common law workers’ compensation and statutory recoveries, insurance coverage disputes. Parties she has acted for include retail and residential property owners and occupiers, owners’ corporations, security and custody service providers, cleaning contractors, building industry contractors and design professionals, medical and allied health professionals, schools, hospitals, community organisations, cemetery trusts, amateur and professional sporting associations along with aged care and childcare providers.
David C Oldfield
David practises in the areas of common law, administrative law, and regulatory crime. David regularly appears in trials, review hearings and appeals, professional disciplinary hearings, inquests and public inquiries. He also prepares advice and paper work in his listed areas of practice.
Megan Caines
Megan Caines currently works across a number of personal injury practise areas. Megan began her career at a large plaintiff law firm acting exclusively for Victorians injured as a result of road trauma, and has extensive experience in road trauma claims. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 she was named by Doyle's Guide to Leading Lawyers as a recommended lawyer in motor vehicle accident compensation law in Victoria, and she is currently a member of the ALA Victorian committee. Megan made the transition to Polaris Lawyers with the vision of helping to establish a boutique innovative personal injury law firm. Polaris Lawyers was named NewLaw Firm of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2018 and Law Firm of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2019.
Jonathan Brett KC
Jonathan Brett KC has practised as a barrister since 1980, although for a total of approximately 2 years between 1986 and 1992 I took time off, working in the Northern Territory. During that period, he largely worked as an administrator in an Aboriginal community, Imanpa. Currently, his practice is largely in personal injuries, particularly acting for plaintiffs. He provides thorough and effective advocacy and at the same time focus on ensuring that the client is aware of the processes through which he or she is travelling, and is properly informed so as to make appropriate and correct decisions.
Fiona Ryan
Fiona Ryan practises in common law and administrative law in the Federal and State Courts. She appears in a wide range of personal injury matters including: serious injury applications (WorkCover and TAC); common law trials; occupiers' liability trials; entitlements to benefits under statutory insurance schemes (WorkCover and TAC); veterans' entitlements claims; inquests. Fiona also appears at the AAT, Federal Court and Full Federal Court in administrative law matters and has particular experience in Veterans' Entitlement matters. Prior to coming to the Bar, Fiona worked at Holding Redlich in the personal injury department.
Sach Fernando
Sach Fernando is a leading lawyer and Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury law. Sach is also an active member of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, an organisation that is committed to protecting the rights of individuals, and the Law Institute of Victoria, who named him as a Rising Star in 2017. Sach is of Sri Lankan heritage and speaks fluent Sinhalese. His service to the Sri Lankan Australian community was recognised in 2016 when he was awarded Young Sri Lankan of the Year. Sach founded Maxiom Injury Lawyers with a commitment to providing high quality legal advice, which is personal and affordable.
Fiona Spencer
Fiona practises in administrative, commercial and personal injuries law. Immediately before coming to the Bar, Fiona worked on a wide range of commercial matters as a senior associate at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst). Her recent presentations have included “Police Powers: Transparency and Accountability” (September 2014), “Statutory Interpretation, Human Rights and Administrative Law” (2013, with Mark Moshinsky SC) and “Proportionate Liability in Commercial Litigation” (2012, with Matthew Kennedy). Fiona is the author of LexisNexis Practical Guidance “General Procedures and the Civil Procedure Act” (Personal Injury Victoria Module) and a reporter for the Victorian Reports.
Nardine Hanna
Nardine has practiced in Personal Injury Law and Litigation for more than 12 years with a particular expertise in WorkCover, Transport Accident, Public Liability & Medical Negligence claims. Nardine is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria Workers’ Compensation Committee and Coroners’ Group Committee. Currently a Senior Associate at Shine Lawyers, Nardine will commence the Bar Readers’ course in March 2023.
Geraldine Collins
Geraldine Collins is a Principal at Maurice Blackburn. She has more than 20 years’ legal experience in personal injury compensation claims. She is a LIV accredited specialist in personal injuries law. She has been both the Victorian and National President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA). Geraldine was a member of the working group which undertook a complete re-write of the TAC Protocols during 2014 - 16. She sits on the TAC Legal Liaison Committee, LIV TAC Committee, TAC Protocols Review Forum, TAC legislative review committee, the LIV Specialisation Committee and is a former chair of the LIV's Litigation Lawyers' Executive.
Janine McIlwraith
Before commencing her career in law, Janine worked as a health professional in public and private hospitals. Since commencing her career in law Janine has worked almost exclusively in the health and medical law arena. Janine has worked for both large and small firms. She has co-authored two prominent medical law texts, co-authored the National Disability Insurance Scheme Handbook and has written and edited a number of chapters for Halsbury’s Laws of Australia. Janine has taught Medical Law and Public Health Law at the University of Western Sydney and also taught Health Law to Masters and JD students at Monash University.
Dr Michael Epstein
Dr Michael Epstein has been a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists since 1976. He was the founding director of the Austin Hospital Crisis Service. He was consultant psychiatrist to Fairlea Women's Prison between 1990 and 1996. He was Honorary Secretary of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists between 1991 and 1997. He is a co-author of the Guides to the Evaluation of Psychiatric Impairment for Clinicians (GEPIC). He has trained approximately one hundred and fifty psychiatrists in the use of the GEPIC in Victoria and South Australia. He has also trained psychiatrists in the use of the Psychiatric impairment Rating Scale (the PIRS) for the New South Wales WorkCover Authority and the NSW Motor Accidents Authority. He has been a consultant to the Western Australian Government and a consultant to the Commonwealth Government on Mental Health Service Issues and the South Australian government regarding impairment assessment. He is a member of the Medical Panel, the Forensic Leave Panel and the AMA/VWA/TAC Committee. He was part of the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal's panel of independent psychiatrists. He has a particular interest in stress-related illness. He has an extensive medicolegal practice and has written extensively on medico-legal matters. He has recently published The Guide to Civil Psychiatric Assessment.
Testimonials
‘Very good sessions; great presentations’
‘Speakers well prepared, clear and entertaining’
Venue
RACV City Club
Level 2, 501 Bourke St
Melbourne 3000
VIC
Australia
Parking information
Parking is not included in you registration. Here are some options below.
RACV City Club Car Park. Click here to view rates
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Tram Stations - William/Bourke St or Queen/Bourke St
Bus Interchange - Little Collins St or Supreme Court