Insights Categories: Professional Indemnity

Cyber Security Awareness Month – Are you cyber aware?

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). CSAM is an annual reminder for Australians to stay safe online and protect your online information and assets. The theme for CSAM 2023 is ‘be cyber aware – don’t compromise’. CSAM is an opportunity for businesses to review their understanding of ‘cyber security’ as a concept while continuing […]

Help, my employer is suing me for negligence!

Beri Distributors Pty Ltd v Mossensons Pty Ltd [2022] WADC 30 Key takeaways Professionals are liable to repay fees to their clients in full where the work is of no value at all to the client. Employers are unlikely to be able to recover lost fees from their employees particularly where there is a duty […]

Listen to the experts: Chatoor v Health Care Complaints Commission of NSW [2020] NSWCA 111

The NSW Court of Appeal (“NSWCA”) recently overturned a decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) in relation to two complaints concerning Dr Roger Chatoor (a cardiologist). Dr Chatoor appealed the Tribunal’s findings of unsatisfactory professional conduct on the primary basis that it had failed to correctly apply the relevant statutory test […]

A warning to health practitioners: is your professional indemnity insurance in place?

The Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has sent a loud message to all health practitioners to actively check that their professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements are in order by suspending a psychologist who failed to do so[1]. The practitioner in question had delegated the task of paying all insurance renewals to a family member, […]

Ask for help, and ask early – advice for surviving an AHPRA notification

Meridian Lawyers regularly assists health practitioners who have been the subject of notification to statutory health authorities such as AHPRA, HCCC and the OHO. Our role is to help these practitioners understand, respond to and navigate the complaints process.  Unfortunately, we regularly hear clients express distress that they are the subject of complaint. Many suffer […]

How medical practitioners can manage negative online reviews

Patients are increasingly using social media to post anonymous reviews and ratings about medical services they have received, both good and bad. Thankfully, most are positive. However, a critical review can be distressing for the practitioner and has the potential to damage reputation despite a bad review being just a scintilla of evidence as to […]

Brand loyalty in professional indemnity insurance: risks of shifting insurance cover

The case scenario: A registered health practitioner was involved in the treatment of a cardiac patient in 2008. The practitioner heard nothing further about the patient until receipt of a letter from the Coroner’s Court of Victoria in 2012 requesting a statement concerning the patient’s cardiac management in 2008. The practitioner had retired from practice […]

Meridian Lawyers successful in long-running professional negligence case

Meridian Lawyers has successfully defended a long-running professional negligence case against a solicitor. Case note: Borgese [2017] NSWSC 92: The plaintiff, Domenico Borgese, was born into a family of orchardists near Leeton. He lived with his five sisters and his parents, Carmella and Giuseppe on the family farm. The plaintiff left school at an early age to […]

Is this the end to using contractual indemnities to apportion liability for workers’ injuries?

The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation (National Injury) Insurance Scheme (Amendment Bill 2016) has been introduced into the Queensland Parliament. Along with numerous amendments aimed at reconciling the National Disability Insurance Scheme with the Queensland Workers’ Compensation framework, the Bill also contains a number of amendments, which if enacted, have the potential to seriously impede the […]

‘But how can I notify my insurer? All the details are private’

Every health practitioner knows the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of a patient’s personal information. However, every year a health practitioner is asked by its professional indemnity insurer to provide details of any circumstances that may give rise to a claim against them. Undoubtedly the health practitioner is also told by its Association, or its […]