Sarah McJannett
Sarah advises and acts for private insurers, the ACT Insurance Authority and private entities in defending personal injury compensation claims arising in tort and statute. Her broad experience, over more than two decades, includes claims arising in public liability, compulsory third party and workplace accidents. She is proficient in managing matters in the ACT courts and tribunals, including coronial inquests, and achieves excellent results for her clients by being proactive, results focussed and engaging alternative dispute resolution.
Whilst Sarah enjoys the multifaceted aspects of her practice, she specialises in defending doctors in medical malpractice claims and regulatory and human rights investigations into health practitioners. Her focus is on the welfare of her medical practitioner clients and sensitively helping them navigate the legal and regulatory systems whilst maintaining a firm and robust defence.
Sarah has been recognised by Doyles as Leading in Medical Negligence and Malpractice, Public and Product Liability in 2019-2022, Leading in Professional Indemnity 2020-2022, Recommended in Workers Compensation in 2022 and Pre-eminent in Compulsory Third Party from 2020-2022. Sarah has also been recognised in Best Lawyers for Litigation in 2019 and 2020, and in Health and Aged Care Law in 2022, being named Best Lawyer in Canberra in that category in 2021.
Experience
Sarah’s recent experience includes:
- NRMA Insurance – successfully resisting an application for special leave to the High Court, wherein the ACT Court of Appeal decision was maintained that an insured driver acted reasonably in the agony of the moment: Reardon v Seselja [2021] ACTCA 4;
- Medical defence insurers – acting in coronial inquests for medical practitioners;
- Private insurers – acting for private insurers in relation to cohort claims arising from a mass food poisoning outbreak at an ACT restaurants, catastrophic injury claims, complex multi-defendant contribution and indemnity proceedings and claims against home owners, cleaning companies, shopping centres, owners corporations and construction and development companies;
- Private hospitals – acting for and advising private hospitals in relation to claims, investigations, complaints relating to incidents involving patients; and
- ACT Insurance Authority – defending uninsured workplace and motor vehicle accident claims made against the ACT nominal insurer and pursuing recovery.