Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service
[2025] HCA 34 · Gageler CJ, Gordon, Edelman, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ
This was an appeal to the High Court arising from a liability-admitted Queensland medical negligence case. Mr Stewart was catastrophically injured in 2016 when he was negligently treated at a Queensland hospital, suffering brain damage, paralysis on his right side and other serious injuries. The hospital admitted liability. Before his injury he lived in his own home where his teenage son and dogs could stay; afterwards he was placed in an aged care facility where his son and dog could not stay and his health was deteriorating. The dispute was whether his damages should cover the much higher cost of being cared for in his own rented home. The trial judge and Court of Appeal each refused this, weighing only the health benefits against the cost. The High Court ruled this was the wrong approach. The proper question was whether his choice to live at home was a reasonable way to restore his pre-injury position, which it was. The appeal succeeded and damages were set at around $5.88 million, with the matter returned to the Supreme Court for final assessment.
Incident & injury
Negligent medical treatment for nausea and abdominal pain at hospital, leading to bowel perforations, sepsis, cardiac arrest and stroke
- Body regions
- Brain / head, Head, Abdomen / pelvis, Right shoulder, Right hip, Internal organs, Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Extreme brain injury, Bowel perforations, Sepsis, Cardiac arrest, Stroke, Right-sided body pain with no active movement in right upper limb, Right lower limb contractures, Receptive and expressive aphasia
- Incident date
- 1 April 2016
- Location
- Redcliffe Hospital, Queensland
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 3 September 2025
- Claim type
- PIPA Medical Negligence
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 63
- Occupation
- Not stated
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 85 · Item 5.1 Sch 4 — Extreme brain injury (Substantial insight remaining)
- Whole Person Impairment
- 96%
- Total damages
- $5,883,689
Outcome
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 against cost. The correct question was whether his choice to be cared for in his own rented home was a reasonable response to repair the consequences of the tort, with the onus then on the defendant to prove the cost could be avoided. The matter was remitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland for assessment of damages on the agreed basis that total damages would be $5,883,688.85.
Defendant
1 Metro North Hospital and Health Service
Hospital / health service provider
- Judgment against this defendant
- $5,883,689
Heads of damage
| General damages | $284,700 |
|---|---|
| Future care | $4,753,241 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $5,883,689 |
Key issues
Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service [2025] HCA 34
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