Brain and Head Injury Compensation Payouts Qld: 5 Court Awards
These are Queensland court judgments where a brain or head injury was the main injury, and they include some of the largest awards in the database. They range from a fall through a roof at work and a high-speed head-on collision to hospital treatment that led to a stroke, and a collision with a racing wheelchair during a duathlon. Not every claim succeeded.
The size of an award depended on what the injury took away. Where the injury stopped or limited work, lost earning capacity made up most of the award. In the most severe cases, the cost of future care became the largest part.
This page lists 14 Queensland judgments where a brain or head injury was the main injury. In 5 of them, decided between 2020 and 2026, the court assessed damages and the plaintiff recovered; across those, the median total award was $1,062,351.
- Median total damages
- $1,062,351
- Middle half of awards
- $967,383 - $2,499,400
- Full range
- $675,927 - $5,883,689
- Judgments with an award
- 5
Figures cover trials, damages assessments and substantive appeals where the court assessed damages and the plaintiff recovered. Recited settlement figures are excluded, as are cases marked out of aggregate statistics. The median is the middle award, so unlike an average it is not pulled up by a few very large awards. Every judgment is a different plaintiff with different injuries, so treat these as the observed spread in decided cases, not a prediction for any particular claim.
Showing 14 cases. Page 1 of 3. Procedural decisions hidden, tick "Include procedural decisions" above to show them.
| Injury category | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dennison v Brisbane City Council
[2026] QCA 193 Appeal
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that although s 36 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) applied to the claim and the barricading of the… |
Retired | Brain / head, Ophthalmic / visual, Psychiatric | PIPA Public Liability | 64 | $675,927 |
|
Dennison v Brisbane City Council
[2026] QSC 83 Trial
Judgment was entered for the defendant. The court found that the BCC owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and would have breached that duty under s… |
Retired | Brain / head, Ophthalmic / visual, Psychiatric | PIPA Public Liability | 64 | $0 |
|
Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service
[2025] HCA 34 Appeal
The High Court allowed Mr Stewart's appeal, holding that the trial judge and Court of Appeal had applied the wrong test for reasonableness by balancing only health benefits… |
Unemployed | Brain / head, Head, Abdomen / pelvis +4 | PIPA Medical Negligence | 63 | $5,883,689 |
|
Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service
[2024] QCA 225 Appeal
Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Stewart's appeal seeking damages on the basis of independent living, finding no error in the primary judge's conclusion that enhanced care and therapy… |
Unemployed | Brain / head, Brain, Right upper limb +4 | PIPA Medical Negligence | 63 | $2,171,244 |
|
Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service
[2024] QSC 41 Damages assessment
Liability admitted; the dispute was on quantum. The court assessed damages on the basis that the plaintiff would continue to reside in his aged care facility with enhanced… |
Unemployed | Brain / head, Brain, Neurological +3 | PIPA Medical Negligence | 63 | $2,190,505 |
|
Sanders v Mount Isa Mines Limited & Ors
[2023] QSC 188 Trial
The Court held the defendants did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care of the kind alleged, did not breach any such duty, and that causation was… |
Minor / Child | Brain / head, Brain/neurological, Cognitive/intellectual | PIPA Public Liability | ~1 | $0 |
Looking for a specific case? Browse the full case index →, every case in the database on one page, grouped by year.
See the case schematics →, drawings of how each incident happened and the three findings each case turned on.
Roche Legal, Queensland Personal Injury Quantum Database (Web Database, 2026) <https://rochelegal.com.au/quantum-database/>
Use this citation when referring to the resource itself (e.g. in academic articles, annual reports, or media commentary). For a specific case, see the citation block on its individual page.