Norman v Hird and Anor
[2025] QDC 44 · Rosengren DCJ
A 17-year-old woman was injured in August 2020 when another driver turned right across her path at a Beerburrum intersection and the cars collided. She claimed she suffered ongoing neck and lower back injuries. The other driver and her insurer admitted fault, so the only dispute was how much the injuries were worth. The court accepted that the woman's neck injury (a soft-tissue whiplash) was caused by the crash, but found her lower back pain was more likely due to unrelated gynaecological problems she had been treated for over several years. The judge was also cautious about her evidence, noting social media posts suggested her neck symptoms were less constant than she told doctors. Because she was so young with a limited work history, the court estimated her future loss of earning capacity on a broad basis, allowing $70,000. She was awarded a total of $103,198, well below the roughly $180,000 she sought but well above the defendants' suggested $7,700.
Incident & injury
Motor vehicle collision when the first defendant turned right across the plaintiff's path of travel
- Body regions
- Cervical spine
- Diagnoses
- Soft-tissue injury to cervical spine (whiplash), Post-concussion syndrome
- Incident date
- 16 August 2020
- Location
- Beerburrum, Queensland (intersection of Beerburrum Road and Beerburrum Woodford Road)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 31 March 2025
- Claim type
- MAIA
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 17
- Occupation
- Retail assistant (later truck driver / sales assistant) Sales Worker
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 4 · Item 89 — minor cervical spine injury (Civil Liability Regulation 2014 (Qld))
- Whole Person Impairment
- 4%
- Total damages
- $103,198
Outcome
The plaintiff succeeded in establishing a soft-tissue neck injury causally related to the motor vehicle accident but failed to prove causation for her lower back symptoms. Judgment was entered for $103,198, significantly less than the approximately $180,000 claimed, with ISV assessed at 4 (Item 89 minor cervical injury) rather than the ISV 12 claimed.
Defendant
1 Jennifer Nicole Hird and Allianz Australia Insurance Limited
At-fault driver and CTP Insurer
- Apportionment
- 100%
- Judgment against this defendant
- $103,198
- Medicare refund
- $933
Heads of damage
| General damages | $6,480 |
|---|---|
| Interest on general damages | $0 |
| Past economic loss | $19,140 |
| Interest on past EL | $1,040 |
| Past superannuation | $1,830 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $70,000 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $1,633 |
| Interest on past special damages | $75 |
| Future special damages | $3,000 |
Key issues
Norman v Hird and Anor [2025] QDC 44
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