Put your claim in safe hands

Medical Negligence

$10 Million

Sam suffered catastrophic brain injuries due to an improper surgery.

Sam suffered catastrophic brain injuries, resulting in neurological impairment and quadriplegia because the hospital failed to appropriately treat him during surgery.

Before the surgery, Sam was healthy, married with children and was in good professional employment. After the surgery, he was unable to speak, walk, swallow and required 24-hour care. He was unable to look after himself or manage his own affairs. The burden of looking after him and the family fell to his wife. Eventually, it was Sam’s wife who contacted us and asked us to investigate the possible claim against the hospital.

One of our most senior Medical Negligence lawyers took the case and began contacting our extensive network of highly skilled medical experts. The Medical Negligence team gathered evidence from these experts that the hospital breached their duty of care and negligently caused our client’s injuries. Once we had all the evidence we needed, we commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court, where the hospital and its legal team vigorously defended itself.

We successfully defeated their defence and rebutted the majority of medical assumptions relied upon by the hospital. Mindful of the substantial expenses associated with litigation, we arranged for the parties to participate in a Mediation to attempt to resolve the matter without proceeding to a hearing in court.

At the mediation, we negotiated a $10 million settlement for Sam and his family.

Workers Compensation

$900,000

Patrick claimed for a slip at work whilst on a Working Holiday Visa.

Patrick, a man in his late forties from the United Kingdom and working in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, sustained a significant back injury when he was sent by his employer to work on another company’s building site. The building site manager told our client to do a manual task which was inappropriate given the recent wet weather conditions. Our client performed the task and subsequently slipped, falling to the ground with the immediate onset of severe back pain.

After consulting our Workers Compensation team, we made a common law claim for compensation against his employer and against the company in charge of the building site who was instructing him with the various tasks. Even though he had returned to the United Kingdom because his worker’s compensation benefits had ceased and was residing in the United Kingdom for the entire duration of the proceedings, we were able to successfully achieve a settlement close to $900,000.

Road Accidents

$1,000,000

Ryan was involved in an accident on the way home from work.

Our client, a 26-year-old boilermaker, came to see us after being involved in a very serious car accident on his way home from work.

Ryan was knocked from his motorcycle by a car and sustained a de-gloving injury to his left foot, as well as compound fractures of the left foot. He required amputation of toes on his left foot, and whilst in hospital he developed severe infection of the wound and bone. Ryan had to undergo a number of surgical procedures to his foot, and was completely immobilized in this time.

We assisted Ryan to pursue his rights through the Workers Compensation Scheme, at the same time as preparing his motor vehicle accidents claim. As there was no liability issue the CTP matter was to be dealt with through CARS as opposed to the District Court. In preparation of his claim we obtained medical reports from orthopedic and plastic surgeons, an occupational therapist, a podiatrist and also a psychologist.

At our invitation, the parties participated in an Informal Settlement Conference and as a result of the strength of medical evidence obtained the matter was resolved for $1,000,000.00 inclusive of costs and out of pocket expenses, without any need for a lengthy CARS hearing.

These damages represented our client’s suffering, the restrictions on his work capacity, and also the requirement for domestic assistance and medical treatment in both the past and future.

Medical Negligence

$4.5 Million

Rebecca approached us after a major firm advised her she did not have a viable claim.

Rebecca was 35 years old when she developed a kidney stone which was scheduled for surgery. Prior to the surgery, she was admitted to a Melbourne public hospital with an infection and then developed a pulmonary embolism. In the meantime, Rebecca developed neuropathy in her lower limbs and required extensive hospitalisation. By the time Rebecca was discharged from the hospital, she was unable to walk and confined in a wheelchair.

Rebecca was a paraplegic when she was discharged from the hospital. Her feet now turn in at right angles at her ankles. She may require amputation in the future. Rebecca had a long history of severe asthma and anorexia. We qualified a number of experts to comment on the nature and extent of Rebecca’s injuries and disabilities.

We accepted the claim even though it had been rejected by another major law firm and even though the limitation period was about to expire.

The matter was settled at a mediation for $4.5 million. Rebecca would have received no compensation had she accepted the advice of her former solicitors. While no amount of money can properly compensate Rebecca for the suffering she has endured, at least Rebecca can now achieve some level of comfort and support for the remainder of her life.

Workers Compensation

$605,000

Brett was dissatisfied with his previous solicitors, so he came to us.

Brett sustained serious injuries to his knee when he was pinned between a forklift and a steel skip at work. Immediately following the injury, he experienced severe pain and swelling to his knee and was placed on light duties because of his ongoing symptoms. Over the following months and years, Brett’s knee condition gradually got worse, until he required surgical interventions and ongoing physiotherapy. His ongoing disabilities severely impacted on his ability to undertake his employment or to assist with the care of his young children.

Brett came to us because he was dissatisfied with his previous solicitors.  Our Workers Compensation team stepped in and got Brett substantially more than his previous solicitors had said his Workers Compensation was worth. We pursued all available claims for compensation, and successfully resolved Brett’s claim at mediation with a settlement of $605,000 inclusive of costs and out of pocket expenses.

Road Accidents

$900,000

Anastasia was in a car accident and required neck surgery.

Anastasia, a young 28-year-old female, suffered a serious neck and lower back injury when a vehicle that failed to give-way collided with her vehicle. Anastasia required neck surgery, which left her with scarring and insecurities being a young woman, and as a result, she developed an ongoing and persistent psychological disorder. Because of her injuries and the chronic nature of her symptoms, she had to resign from her job.

Anastasia came to us after she had lost confidence in another law firm. She contacted us to get a second opinion and with our advice, she decided to get our Road Accident team to represent her case.

We fast-tracked her claim, and made submissions to the insurance company who not only agreed to pay for Anastasia’s surgery, they also provided her with a substantial financial hardship payment and agreed that she was entitled to pain and suffering damages.

The claim proceeded to mediation in May 2020, and we secured a settlement of $900,000 for our client. Our client was thrilled with the speed at which we were able to settle her matter and with the result.

Medical Negligence

$2.5 Million

Nadia was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy after negligence at birth 13 years ago.

Nadia was 13 years old when she came to us, having been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. After investigating her claim, the Medical Negligence Team found that there were multiple failures on part of the midwife present and hospital staff generally.

When Nadia was born she was blue in appearance. She did not move or cry. An attempt was made to revive her, which eventually succeeded. When she was about 18 months old, Nadia was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

Nadia’s mother felt that there had been negligence on the part of the hospital, and she wanted to secure Nadia’s future for her. She came to us and we commenced court proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW.

Our Medical Negligence team got to work with our extensive network of obstetric experts. We gathered evidence that her mother’s labour was allowed to go for too long, that the baby was in distress but that this was ignored and that no x-rays were performed before the birth.

Our team consulted with other medical experts to ascertain Nadia’s present and future needs. One of the difficulties we faced was Nadia’s age. A child psychiatrist who examined Nadia on our behalf said that it was too early to determinate what will happen to Nadia in the future with respect to her condition. Court proceedings needed to be paused temporarily to ensure that proper reports were obtained regarding Nadia’s future.

After approximately a year and a half, Nadia was re-examined by the same child psychiatrist who provided a comprehensive report dealing with her future needs and limitations. After this and other reports became available, court proceedings were ‘unfrozen’ and we successfully settled Nadia’s claim for $2.5 million.

Workers Compensation

$575,000

Firefighter sustains neck and back injuries at work.

Our client, a firefighter, sustained serious injuries to his neck and back during the course of his employment.

At the time of the injury, our client was attending to a carport fire when he was instructed by his supervisor to maneuver a very heavy and long solid metal bar as a lever. At the time, our client was wearing heavy breathing apparatus, and although hydraulic lifting equipment was available to perform the task, our client’s supervisor did not instruct that this equipment to be deployed.  Subsequently, our client heard a ‘pop’ whilst using the metal bar and developed excruciating pain throughout his entire neck, back and legs.

As a result of his injuries, our client was forced to undergo major surgery.  By all accounts, the surgery did not greatly improve his symptoms, and he continues to rely on a walking stick and scooter in order to mobilize.  He has been unable to return to any form of employment as a result of his injuries.

In order to bring a claim against his employer for negligence, Monaco Solicitors first had to establish this client’s injuries exceeded the restrictive threshold imposed in New South Wales for bringing a Work Injury Damages claim.  After obtaining an expert medical opinion from one of NSW’s premier medical specialists in workers compensation law, the matter proceeded through the Workers Compensation Commission where we successfully established that our client greatly exceeded the threshold for bringing the claim.  As a result of this determination, our client received substantial compensation for his injuries and pain and suffering.

Next, in order to establish that our client’s employer had been negligent in causing his injuries, expert opinion was then sought from a Safety Management and Ergonomics expert.  This opinion was able to successfully establish that our client’s employer had been negligent in numerous areas, including by failing to provide appropriate equipment to our client and in ordering him to perform duties that were extremely dangerous in the circumstances.  Our expert was also able to identify numerous breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000.

Armed with the above, our client was then able to swiftly reach a negotiated agreement with the respondent at mediation.  His matter was successfully resolved for a settlement figure of $575,000 including costs.