Dungan v Padash [2021] NSWCA 66

Material Facts

This is an appeal of a decision relating to an injury sustained by the respondent, in a motor vehicle accident in November 2016.  In the original decision, the District Court judge made findings that any secondary psychiatric injury was related to pain suffered by the respondent, but that any pain suffered after one year after the accident was not caused by the accident.

Damages Findings

In the primary decision, there was allowance for $8,000.00 being for future out-of-pocket expenses which the appeal judge described as “being expenses for analgesics and pain management because he found that relief for pain was required to assist the appellant to relieve the mental health issues he faced.”  However, given the findings of fact relating to the psychiatric injury also reached by the primary judge, the court said that this award of damages was “inconsistent with the primary judge’s finding that the appellant’s current pain was not caused by the accident.”  The appeal was successful in having the order for damages reduced accordingly.