NSW
Medical negligence settlements
in New South Wales.
A patient who said a doctor at Sydney Eye Hospital made too many attempts to tap fluid from his eye, leaving him with vision loss, pain and psychiatric harm, lost because the hospital’s notes were accepted over his recollection. A man who had a metal on metal, short stem hip replacement in 2011 and a revision months later lost his claim that he was not warned of the risks.
Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in New South Wales
| Notes carry weight | Contemporaneous clinical notes were preferred to the patient’s account, and no more than three injection attempts were accepted.Busa v South Eastern Sydney LHD [2025] NSWSC 130 |
|---|---|
| Warnings and practice | Claims about warnings, surgical technique and follow up care are decided under ss 5D, 5E, 5O and 5P of the Civil Liability Act.Taylor v Woodgate [2025] NSWDC 89 |
| Non-economic loss threshold | No damages for non-economic loss “unless its severity is at least 15% of a most extreme case”; above that, the court fixes a percentage of a most extreme case.Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) s 16(1), as quoted in Delaney v Federation Council [2025] NSWDC 141 |