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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