Youssef v Eckersley & Anor
[2024] QSC 35 · Wilson J
Dr Chadi Youssef, a highly qualified former relief teacher with a PhD, was knocked off his motorcycle in December 2016 when a car pulled out of a shopping centre carpark in front of him. He suffered a broken nose, a chin laceration and neck pain, and said the accident triggered a serious decline in his mental health that ended his hoped-for academic career. The insurer admitted responsibility for the crash, so the only question was how much compensation he should receive. The court found that the accident only briefly worsened a mood disorder he already had, and that later, unrelated life events, including time spent in Syria and the United States and family law and criminal matters, were the real cause of his ongoing difficulties. The court also preferred the doctor who found his neck injury was temporary.
Representing himself, the plaintiff was awarded $85,466.56, far less than the more than $1 million he claimed, with no allowance whatsoever for future economic loss.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff riding a motorcycle was knocked off when the first defendant drove out of a shopping centre carpark in front of him
- Body regions
- Cervical spine, Head/face, Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Comminuted nasal bone fracture, Chin laceration, Cervical spine soft tissue injury, Transient aggravation of pre-existing mood disorder
- Incident date
- 22 December 2016
- Location
- Hamilton Road, McDowall, Brisbane
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 15 March 2024
- Claim type
- MAIA
- Proceeding
- Damages assessment
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- ~36 (inferred)
- Occupation
- Relief teacher / academic (PhD), former used car business operator Professional
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 15 uplift applied · Cervical spine injury (AMA5 Table 15.5, DRE Category III; CLR Schedule 4)
- Total damages
- $85,467
Outcome
The court assessed damages following an admitted-liability motor vehicle accident. It found the plaintiff's ongoing mental disorder was not caused by the accident (only transiently aggravated for about a year), and preferred the defendant's orthopaedic evidence that the cervical spine injury was temporary. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff against the CTP insurer for $85,466.56.
Defendant
1 Allianz Australia Insurance Limited
CTP Insurer
- Apportionment
- 100%
- Judgment against this defendant
- $85,467
Heads of damage
| General damages | $25,800 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $40,000 |
| Interest on past EL | $5,783 |
| Past superannuation | $3,884 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $0 |
| Future superannuation | $0 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $5,000 |
| Future special damages | $5,000 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $85,467 |
Key issues
Youssef v Eckersley & Anor [2024] QSC 35
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Learn more about motor vehicle accident claims in Queensland.