Personal Injury Conference
What are you looking for from CPD? Updates? Insights? Subject matter experts sharing wisdom? Look no further. Hear about the latest in workers compensation and abuse law, claims involving multiple injuries at work and obtain guidance on assessing the merits of a medical negligence compensation claim plus bespoke presentations for personal injury lawyers on ethics, professional skills and practice management. 243W07
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 based on WA legislation
Session 1
Personal Injury Law Roundup
Chair: Dr Rob Guthrie, recently retired Assessor Criminal Injuries Compensation and Adjunct Professor at School of Business Law, Curtin University
9.00am to 10.00am Workers Compensation & Injury Management Act 2023
- Eligibility criteria to access statutory benefits
- Exclusions
- Transitional provisions
- Regulations
Presented by Rebecca Sorgiovanni, Partner, Soul Legal
10.00am to 11.00am Claims Involving Multiple Injuries at Work
- When is it considered more than one “injury”
- Consequential injuries/conditions and overuse
- Disease cases
- Multiple injuries in work injury damages claims
Presented by John-Paul Wilson, Principal, Gilchrist Connell; Recommended Workers Compensation Lawyers (Defendant)and Public & Product Liability Lawyers (Defendant) Doyles Guide 2023
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm Interlocutory Skirmishes in Abuse Law
- Getting leave
- Suppressing evidence
- The plaintiff who dies
Presented by Asanka Gunasekera, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
12.15pm to 1.15pm Preparation and Assessment in Medical Negligence Cases
- Taking instructions from the client in a medical negligence case
- Working with medical experts to establish causation, breach and severity of the medical injury
- Pleadings in medical negligence cases: exploring the fundamentals of good pleadings with the use of case studies
Presented by Neil Morrissey, Barrister, Albert Wolff Chambers
Session 2
Ethics, Practice Management and Business Skills and Professional Skills for Personal Injury Lawyers
Chair:
Practice Management
2.00pm to 3.00pm Managing Psycho-Social Risks in the New Legislative Environment
Mental health and wellbeing is now recognised as a central requirement to be an employer of choice and have a productive workplace with a workplace culture fit for purpose in 2023 onwards.
- What are psycho-social hazards?
- How do you assess and manage psycho-social risks?
- What does the law require an employer to do when dealing with psycho-social risks?
- Practical ways of managing psycho-social risks in the workplace
- Practical ways to deal with psycho-social risks for employees working from home
- The approach of WorkSafe WA to dealing with psycho-social risks
- Recent cases on how judicial officers treat breaches of the WHS legislation
Presented by Maria Saraceni, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers, Recommended Employment & WHS Barristers, Doyles Guide 2023
Professional Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Impairment Assessment 101
- Impairment vs disability
- WA guides vs AMA guides
- WPI vs Schedule 2
Presented by Dr Neil Ozanne, Consultant Occupational Physician
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Ethics and Professional Conduct for Personal Injury Lawyers
4.15pm to 5.15pm Ethics for Personal Injury Lawyers including the Role of Counsel
- You suspect your client is not being open and honest
- Your client demands you do something in an ethically grey area
- Ethics in witness preparation
- The case is settled….or is it?
- Lessons in clear negotiations
- Does briefing counsel absolve you from professional responsibility?
- The role of counsel
Presented by Roger Sands, Barrister, Arundel Chambers
Testimonials
All topics were very relevant
Well organised, good topics, very useful papers and presentation
Presenters
Dr Rob Guthrie
Rob Guthrie was admitted to practice in 1982 and worked in private practice for about 10 years and continued to practice whilst an academic at Curtin University for 20 years. He practiced, researched and lectured in employment issues and in particular workers compensation matters. He was appointed an Assessor of Criminal Injuries Compensation in 2010 and retired from that position in 2023. He is currently on the Board of the Aboriginal Family Legal Service and is assisting various Community Legal Centres with CIC claims. He is also a trades assistant in his son's carpentry and landscape business a job for which he has no qualifications.
Rebecca Sorgiovanni
Rebecca is a co-director at Soul Legal which firm had its inception in 2018. Prior to that she spent 10 years as Principal at Sorgiovanni Legal. Rebecca has worked for both Plaintiff and Defendant firms in Personal Injuries and Insurance law, since being admitted in 1998. Rebecca has previously been involved in the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association, WA Branch (now known as the Australian Lawyers Alliance) as head of the Education Committee and as Branch Secretary arranging CPD events, lobbying and assisting in arranging State Conferences. Rebecca is a registered family law mediator and a believer in alternative dispute resolution. At Soul Legal Rebecca and Kevin aim to combine strong litigation skills with a client focused approach, preferring cost effective holistic solutions where possible.
Neil Morrissey
Growing up on a remote pastoral property, Neil broke family tradition by choosing a career in the legal profession. Neil's practice is predominantly in the area of civil litigation with a focus on personal injuries cases. Prior to joining the independent bar he was a solicitor at Bradford & Co. In 2013 Neil completed a Master of Laws at the University of Western Australia with his primary research area being negligence liability. He has a special interest in trial and appellate advocacy and has appeared on behalf of clients in most courts. Neil is a LexisNexis Author co-authoring Practical Guidance for the Western Australian Supreme and District Courts. Neil's notable cases include New South Wales v DC [2017] HCA 22 (led) (abuse of minors), Engine Protection Equipment Pty Ltd v Miller [2018] WASCA 55 (workers' compensation), Cullen v Woodside Energy Pty Ltd [2021] WADC 56 (workers' compensation), Gentle v Wright [2021] WADC 63 (landlord and tenant), Jenner v Mundrabilla Roadhouse Pty Ltd [2021] WADC 59 (occupiers' liability), RLA Morgans v Vrebac [2022] WADC 86 (workers' compensation/statutory construction), Delgado v Bevchain Pty Limited [2022] WADC 98 (discovery) and Praetz v Sodexo Australia Pty Ltd [2023] WADC 48 (pleadings). Neil is a member of the RSPCA's pro bono legal panel and is the current Western Australian State President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance. Outside of work Neil is a qualified aerial mustering pilot and has spent time mustering in the East Kimberley region and in the Northern Territory.
Dr Neil Ozanne
Dr Ozanne is a Consultant Occupational Physician (Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine – Royal Australasian College of Physicians), and a WorkCover WA Approved Medical Specialist for permanent impairment assessment. He combines his specialist Occupational Physician experience with his background of over 25 years specialist General Practice experience to provide a comprehensive, holistic, biopsychosocial approach to undertake Independent Medical Assessments including Permanent Impairment Assessments.
Roger Sands
Roger commenced his legal practice as a general practitioner, gaining experience in many areas of the law. He developed a speciality in personal injury, insurance, compensation and litigation. Roger was a founding partner of law firm Marks and Sands and subsequently he was the managing partner and consultant for the national law firm Sparke Helmore in their Perth Office. Roger recently set up his own barristers chambers, known as Arundel Chambers, practicing in personal injury, insurance, compensation and litigation. Roger was acknowledged as one of WA’s best personal injury litigation lawyers in the 2022 Australian Best Lawyer Awards.
Venue
Cliftons Perth
Parmelia House, 191 St Georges Terrace
Perth 6000
WA
Australia
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Train Stations - Elizabeth Quay Train Station
Bus Interchange - St Georges Terrace, after Milligan St (1 min walk)
Parking information
Parking not included in your registration.
Here is an option - Wilson Parking - St Georges Square, 225 St Georges Terrace Perth - click here for rates.