Benjamin Pretty

Daniel migrated to Australia looking to improve his English but was unable to find work in his desired profession as his overseas qualifications were not recognised here. Whilst attending ELICOS to improve his qualifications, Daniel’s aspirations were suddenly interrupted by the injuries suffered as a result of a transport accident. The TAC initially disputed his economic loss claim, arguing that his current skills were transferable in the open labour market within...

Clinton is a bus driver and met with us after being involved in a collision at work. The driver of a car travelling in the opposite direction to Clinton’s bus lent over to pick up a cigarette that had been dropped the passenger floor. The car veered onto the opposite side of the road and hit Clinton’s bus head-on. Clinton immediately felt pain in his lower back and was taken...

In early 2016 Karren and her husband came to Australia on a holiday to both enjoy their honeymoon and explore our country. With plans to stay in Australia for a few months, the couple sought casual work at a farm in Victoria to fund their holiday. Karren’s role included cleaning the machines that process hops, including clearing any rubbish from the apparatus which she did not receive appropriate training for....

Rosa is a lovely elderly woman who was enjoying her retirement life. A night of family birthday celebration at a commercial premises turned into an accident, when Rosa slipped on a set of steps at the premises. As a result of the accident, she fractured her pelvis and lumbar spine. Her condition worsened and deteriorated with pain. We pursued Rosa’s claim against the premises on the basis that the steps...

Mr Ruan sustained an injury to his right wrist whilst lifting a box during the course of his employment. Following the injury, his employer terminated his employment on the grounds that there were no restricted light duties available for him. As a result of the injury and language barrier, Mr Ruan was not able to find alternative employment that he could manage with his restrictions to his wrist, so he...

Tanya suffered a serious injury to her knee when a fellow student tackled her from behind without warning during a self-defence class at school. Tanya was young at the time, and it was hoped her injury would pass but it did not. She was left with knee problems that will plague her for the rest of her life. When her mother first consulted us she did not know what could...

Shuling came to Australia on a tourist visa, to help her daughter and son-in-law to look after their child. On the day of incident, she was walking to pick up her grandchild from primary school. As a naturally cautious person, she always watched where she was stepping, so she looked down as she stepped off a kerb. When she looked up, a Labrador had appeared out of nowhere and jumped...

Fang was an overseas student. On the way to school one morning she took a tram to the Arts Centre tram stop. She exited the tram and crossed over to head towards the sidewalk. As she did so she did not see a tram to her left and was struck down, suffering serious physical injuries and a closed head injury. We first met Fang at the Epworth Rehabilitation Centre. We...

Jennifer was at a hospital to be with her ill mother, when ironically she herself had an accident. There was a pool of water on the hospital floor that Jennifer had not seen and she took a massive fall. Jennifer suffered from multiple injuries from the fall. We were able to have an early settlement conference before Christmas, and we assisted Jennifer with an advance of her settlement monies to...

Kathi was shopping at a local shopping centre. She had parked her car in the underground car park at the centre and was walking through the car park towards the entrance to the shops. She slipped on engine oil in one of the parking bays and fell,  landing heavily and badly injuring her shoulder. Kathi’s case needed detailed investigations to get to the bottom of who actually bore responsibility for...