Kim is a senior associate in Cooper Grace Ward’s insurance team. She is a nominated individual on WorkCover Queensland’s solicitors panel, while also representing self-insurers in respect of their common law claims.
Kim’s experience includes eight years acting for the Queensland Government defending WorkCover common law claims and advising ministers and senior management on legal issues such as litigation arising from public liability claims, anti-discrimination and industrial relations. She has particular experience advising on technical and lengthy claims for purely psychiatric injuries.
Kim’s experience also includes a period at WorkCover itself as a claims manager, as well as acting for individual plaintiffs claiming damages. This combined experience gives her a keen insight into the practical issues facing employers and a well-rounded view of the claims process.
It has often been assumed that a claimant with an injury resulting in a degree of permanent impairment of 20% or more was entitled to recover counsel’s fees on settlement of a claim, pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014. However, the Queensland Supreme Court has now definitively held that there is no such entitlement.
The decision is a reminder that the onus is on the injured worker to prove that their work was a ‘significant contributing factor’, not just a mere medical possibility.
In Deans v Maryborough Christian Education Foundation Ltd [2019] QCA 73, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the trial judge’s decision that a school was not liable for a teacher’s slip on a grape.This win for the employer demonstrates that not every slip and fall at work results in a positive liability case.
Cooper Grace Ward acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Fast, accurate and flexible entities including companies, self-managed superannuation funds and trusts.