Bosk v Burgess & Anor
[2021] QSC 338 · Wilson J
Vincent Bosk, a 24-year-old German university student, was walking along a footpath at Noosa Heads in May 2014 when a car lost control at a roundabout, drove onto the footpath and hit him. He suffered catastrophic injuries, the most serious being the amputation of his left leg below the knee, along with fractures to multiple other limbs, chest and abdominal injuries, and ongoing psychological trauma including residual PTSD. Liability was fully admitted by QBE, the driver's compulsory third-party insurer. The trial concerned only the amount of damages. The main disputes were over how much he had lost in past and future earnings (complicated by the fact that he is German and earns in Euros), and the cost of the many prosthetic limbs he will need for the rest of his life. The court awarded him approximately AUD $573,600 plus €871,373, with the Euro component covering past and future lost earnings, pension losses, and the lifetime cost of replacing and maintaining up to four types of prosthetic limbs. The case is notable for the multi-currency judgment and the detailed analysis of the future cost of prosthetic technology for a young amputee with decades of life ahead.
Incident & injury
Pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle that lost control at a roundabout and mounted the footpath
- Body regions
- Knee / lower leg, Left lower limb (below-knee amputation), Right lower limb (femur, Knee), Right upper limb (radius/ulna, Wrist), Chest, Abdomen, Psychiatric (Left)
- Diagnoses
- Below-knee amputation of left leg, Open multi-fragmentary fracture of left tibia and fibula, Comminuted fracture of right femur, Open comminuted fracture of right radius and ulna, Right knee ACL disruption and postero-lateral corner injury, Sternal fracture, Fractures of 4th and 5th ribs, Bilateral haemopneumothoraces, Right pulmonary contusion, Grade II splenic laceration, Right perinephric haematoma, Mesenteric and serosal tears, Post-traumatic stress disorder (residual)
- Incident date
- 26 May 2014
- Location
- Noosa Heads, Queensland
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 14 December 2021
- Claim type
- MAIA
- Proceeding
- Damages assessment
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 24
- Occupation
- Sports manager (soccer agency); at time of injury was a student between bachelor's and master's degrees in economics, previously worked as a bartender Student
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 61
- Total damages
-
$1,977,019
93rd percentile · MAIA matters (n=30)
This recovery includes EUR 871,373.04 converted to AUD 1,403,403.19 at the rate A$1 = 0.6209 EUR (Rate stated by the Court at [2022] QSC 79 at [46] as the rate at the date of this judgment, 14 December 2021; conversion arithmetic ours).
Outcome
A 24-year-old German national suffered a below-knee amputation of his left leg and multiple other serious injuries when struck by a vehicle on a footpath at Noosa Heads in May 2014. Liability was admitted by the CTP insurer (QBE). Liability and several heads of damage were admitted. The court assessed the contested heads of damage: past economic loss, future earning capacity, future aids and equipment, and future prosthetic costs - and awarded judgment of $573,616.13 AUD and €871,373.04, with damages expressed partly in Euros to best reflect the plaintiff's losses as a German resident. (The damages would be increased in a subsequent proceeding).
Defendant
1 QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited
CTP Insurer
- Apportionment
- 100%
- Judgment against this defendant
- $573,616 and EUR 871,373.04
Heads of damage
| General damages | $167,760 |
|---|---|
| Past care (Griffiths v Kerkemeyer) | $40,000 |
| Future care | $80,000 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $300,325 |
| Interest on past special damages | $2,199 |
| Future special damages | $33,332 |
| AUD subtotal before refunds | $623,616 |
The schedule above itemises the AUD component of the judgment only. This judgment also awarded damages in a foreign currency; those heads are not itemised here. The converted total is shown under Total damages above, with the exchange rate and its source.
Key issues
Bosk v Burgess & Anor [2021] QSC 338
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