Joan and Henry Carus + Associates

The Story about this Public Liability Claim

If you are subscribed to our newsletters, you will recall our January newsletter about our remarkable client Joan, who celebrated her 100th birthday.

Joan came to us after having a fall at a clinic for a post-operation check-up.

At the time of the accident, she was 98 years old and was using a walking stick.

For the examination, the doctor attending to her asked her to use two steps to get onto an elevated examination table, and take down her pants.

After completion of the examination, the doctor told her that she could get dressed and step down from the table, before turning around and walking back to his desk.

Left alone with no assistance, Joan managed to stand up on the top step, and start to lift her pants when she lost her balance and fell onto the ground.

Joan fractured both her arms and injured both her shoulders.

Given her age, we acted quickly and applied for an expedited Court timetable.

Joan’s claim was met with high resistance by the insurers of the doctor and the clinic.

We went to an informal settlement conference, which did not resolve the claim, then to mediation, which again, did not resolve the claim.

We were ready to go to trial, and 10 days before the trial, we successfully settled the claim out of Court.

Joan’s daughter wrote to us to say the following:

After her fall in the medical consulting rooms, my Mother was hospitalised for months, in severe pain, and humiliated because she could do nothing for herself with two broken arms.  It was obvious that the surgeon was not going to help or even talk about it, but something had to be done.

The Health Complaints Commissioner's office tried but got nowhere, and they advised me to find a no win, no fee lawyer.

How very fortunate we are that we chose Henry Carus + Associates!  I saw Eliza who consulted with Henry, and from that point we were in very good hands.

My mother is a very determined woman, and a fighter.  Henry and his staff are equally determined, and they fought for her and won.

Eliza and Charlie, you did an amazing job, and thank you for everything!  You took the time to listen to our concerns, managed the case in spite of further hospital stays, and kept us advised every step of the way. Henry, thank you for your leadership. My mother and I couldn't have asked for a better team, and we are so grateful to you for a positive result.

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