Head on Injury: The Eyes Have It
Helping you play chicken with a Most Extreme Case (CLA NSW)
A male plaintiff of unspecified but working age was spectating a football game when he was struck in the left eye by a firework resulting in lost sight in that eye.? There was little dispute on the evidence as to the nature and effect of the injury and the plaintiff was noted to have been totally incapacitated for the first 6 months following the incident and that for the next 12 months his capacity was significantly reduced. With an award of 30% MEC, the Court took into account the plaintiff’s loss of sight, the pain he had suffered and his difficulty with driving. Haris v Bulldogs RLC [2006] NSWCA 53
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A female plaintiff of unspecified age unsuccessfully sued a football club for injuries sustained when she fell attempting to descend some stairs.? In finding 33% MEC, the Court accepted that principally, the plaintiff’s injury was her loss of sight in one eye.? It was not persuaded that her depression had been exacerbated by the incident. Egan v Woy Woy & District RLFC [2014] NSWDC 336
An 18-year-old male plaintiff sustained facial fractures and other injuries as a roofing labourer when he fell 6 metres from a second storey platform to the ground. He suffered right sided facial deformity involving a severely comminuted and depressed fracture of the right orbit and related soft tissue injuries, neurological disability affecting his gaze and vision, significant post-operative scarring, headaches, difficulties with spatial and distance judgment, depression, social withdrawal, vivid nightmares and low self-esteem. In awarding 50% MEC, the Court accepted that prior to the incident, the plaintiff was a fit and healthy young man without physical restriction and that these injuries adversely and permanently affect his daily life and his experiences and interactions with others. Particularly, as a result of his limited vision the plaintiff would always be on guard to avoid further injury and face the inconvenience and risks of repeated interventional treatment to his damaged right eye. Apthorpe v QBE & Ors [2019] NSWDC 135