Seven years after a car accident in Canberra ended her career, a former Queensland accountant is finally getting some peace of mind and a hefty compensation package of nearly $500,000, according to ABC News.
The car accident
On her way home from work in 2013, the women experienced whiplash that amounted to restricted movement and migraines. This made it difficult to pursue her dream career as a partner at a major firm and instead limited her availability and lead her to part-time work as an accountant. Today, the woman works as a deckhand on a ferry, but claims the hard physical labour has yet to worsen her injuries.
The damage
The injured woman originally asked for over $1 million in compensation, but the insurer, NRMA, claimed an exaggeration of her injuries when they provided a surveillance video of her working in the garden – a hobby that requires a great deal of dexterity.
After reviewing this evidence, her lawyers and Justice Robert Crowe agreed that the gardening wasn't enough to assume the woman in question was faking her injuries.
"It showed pruning activity which was fairly innocuous given the plaintiff's evidence-in-chief, and which lasted only a short time," said Crowe. "It seemed to me that, perhaps due to some extent to her involvement in the litigation, the plaintiff had become overly focused on her symptoms. "She did tend to blame whatever symptoms she had from time to time (for example, blocked ears) on the motor vehicle accident."
In conclusion, based on the woman's claim and her willingness to endure a long cross-examination of the case, she was awarded $493,000 in compensation for past and future damages.
Contact GMP for your worker's compensation needs
If you were injured travelling to or from work or perhaps endured an accident while on the job, you may be entitled to workers' compensation. Perhaps you experienced a similar incident as the one highlighted above – if that's the case, we want to help. It's time to contact the workers' compensation lawyers at Gerard Malouf & Partners.
With more than 35 years of experience, the accredited specialists in Personal Injury Law can give you the assistance you need. Call us today to better understand your rights for filing a claim and getting the compensation you deserve.
