Alison Elmes
Alison specialises in professional indemnity, directors & officers, public and products liability and life insurance claims. She acts in a broad range of matters across various courts and tribunals, handling large and complex multi-party litigation, catastrophic and fatal claims, coronial inquiries, statutory recovery claims and indemnity/coverage disputes.
Alison acts for a variety of professionals including engineers, architects, building surveyors, accountants, financial advisers and directors/officers. She also has experience acting for different categories of health professionals.
Alison has a wealth of insurance expertise gained from private practice, as well as working in house with one of Australia’s largest insurance companies in both claims and as in house legal counsel.
Experience
Alison’s recent experience includes:
- Investment research house: Acting in multi-layer claims in the Supreme and Federal Courts against an investment research house arising out of a managed investment scheme and alleged misrepresentations;
- Personal injuries: Defending the landlord of a residence against a claim involving catastrophic personal injuries as a result of a visitor falling from the roof;
- Personal injuries: Acting for an architect in a multi-party proceeding involving a claim by a seriously injured plaintiff who was injured whilst working on a roof top air conditioning unit. The proceedings went to trial and a formal offer to contribute was successfully beaten, with the result being payment of Alison’s insurer client’s costs;
- Accountancy firm: Acting for an accountancy firm in Supreme Court proceedings involving allegations of false and misleading auditing; and
- Coronial inquiry: Appearing for a registered health professional (on instructions from the professional indemnity insurer) in a Coronial Inquiry involving the death of a new born child, and then successfully defending subsequent disciplinary proceedings.