By: Stephen White, Partner and Sarah Tuhtan, Solicitor; Carter Newell (Queensland, Australia)
In recent years with the advent of the "mining boom" in Queensland and Western Australia, insurers defending personal injury claims have been confronted with the argument that injured workers in the resource sector should receive significant damages for economic loss.
The Queensland Court of Appeal recently considered the assessment of damages for a worker (the appellant) at a mine site who had no residual earning capacity after he was injured, and who had a significant prior medical history and opioid dependency.
Specifically, the Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether there was an error in the calculation of the appellant's general damages, loss of earning capacity and, critically, whether the primary judge had erred in measuring the appellant's chance of continuing to work in the mining industry but for the incident.
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