Carol leads Cooper Grace Ward’s specialist health law team. She has over 15 years’ experience in personal injuries litigation and more than 10 of these years purely in the area of health law.

Industry experience:

Carol’s legal expertise is grounded in direct clinical experience. She qualified as a registered nurse in 1983 and worked in variety of settings in a major Queensland public hospital. Carol’s clients appreciate her practical understanding of their work and their professional environment.

Her areas of specialisation include:

• Health and aged care
• Medical negligence
• Coronial investigations and inquests
• AHPRA investigations and prosecutions
• Incident management and investigation
• Risk management
• Health care product failures.

Carol’s medical negligence claims experience includes:

• general expedited cancer claims
• specialised cancer services claims (she is a nominated BreastScreen lawyer)
• catastrophic claims involving brain damage and paraplegia
• wrongful birth claims
• failed sterilisation claims
• orthopaedic claims
• dependency claims
• absconding psychiatric/suicide claims
• nervous shock claims
• failure to warn claims
• surgical claims, for example perforation.

Carol has acted in a number of high profile Coronial Inquests. She has represented Queensland Health and indemnified individuals before various professional registration boards, Coronial Inquests, Health Quality & Complaints Commission proceedings and resultant claims.

As Client Liaison Partner for Queensland Health, Carol is sensitive to the political environment and pressures encountered within the public health system, including issues surrounding overseas trained doctors, rural and remote services, and resourcing issues. She understands how to successfully conduct legal defences and manage issues in the spotlight of intense public interest and media exposure.

Carol is also Relationship Manager for Avant; Australia’s largest MDO (medical defence organisation).
Carol has been independently ranked as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in the area of health and aged care for four years running (Best Lawyers Guide Australia, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).