EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Holly has extensive experience with the statutory workers compensation scheme and often assists her clients with advice on complex point-of-law queries. She also handles common law (work injury damages) and Section 151Z recovery matters.

In addition to handling disputes in the Personal Injury Commission (both at an Arbitrator and Presidential level), Holly has appeared at the Local, District and Supreme Courts of NSW as well as the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

Holly regularly delivers training seminars to her clients on a wide range of issues across all areas of personal injury law, along with regular sessional attendances and ad hoc legal advice.

Examples of Holly’s experience include:

• Assisting in the resolution of claims on a commercial basis that results in favourable outcomes for the insurer
• Successfully defending the employer in respect of a claim for psychological injury due to alleged bullying and harassment that was on the basis that it was not established that employment was the ‘main contributing factor’ to the injury
• Successfully appealing a number of Medical Assessment Certificates resulting in a reduction of the worker’s lump sum compensation payment (often to nil) and, in certain cases, the worker no longer meeting the relevant threshold sought
• Assisting in numerous Section 39 claims, including successfully seeking a reconsideration of an earlier Medical Assessment Certificate, particularly those where ‘existing recipients’ previously had an assessment that their impairment was not fully ascertainable
• Acting on behalf of labour hire companies in matters where proceedings are brought by an injured worker against both the labour hire company and the host employer. Assisting in resolution of such claims which involves liability apportionment to be evaluated, as well as acting in related recovery proceedings brought against the host employer.
• Successfully bringing an appeal in respect of an arbitrator decision relating to a factually complex psychological injury claim for which liability had been disputed on the basis of Section 11A
• Successfully defending a claim for lump sum compensation made in respect of an industrial deafness injury on the basis of an extension of the findings of Sukkar v Adonis Electrics Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 459 in circumstances where the existing Medical Assessment Certificate was less than the Section 66(1) threshold, which involved the preparation of written submission on this point-of-law issue
• Successfully defending a claim for industrial deafness on the basis that it was disputed that the employment was ‘noisy’ for the purpose of Section 17 of the Act.