Ashley Harding
Ashley Harding is a Partner in HWL Ebsworth’s National Insurance Group. Ashley has practiced across a broad range of areas in the general insurance industry, including within the financial lines and casualty lines of business.
Ashley has over 16 years’ experience practising across a range of public and product liability and property damage claims. In doing so, he has acted on behalf of insurers and self-insured clients in the Supreme, County and Magistrates’ Courts, as well as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and certain disciplinary bodies.
Ashley has particular expertise in relation to personal injury claims, including worker damages claims, major loss and catastrophic claims, including those relating to fire, flood and product or manufacturing defects, and the defence of claims brought by statutory insurers, including the Victorian WorkCover Authority and the Transport Accident Commission.
In the financial lines space, Ashley has particular expertise in acting in a defence and coverage capacity in professional indemnity claims. He represents a variety of building consultants in construction-related disputes, including architects and designers, engineers and building surveyors. Ashley also has extensive experience in the defence of claims brought against accountants, tax agents, financial planners, property managers and real estate agents. That includes complex multi-defendant actions involving allegations of fraud and malfeasance.
Experience
Ashley’s recent experience includes:
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Defence of worker’s damages actions and statutory recovery actions brought under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and the Transport Accident Act;
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Defence of public liability claims, including occupier liability claims under the Wrongs Act and claims brought against third parties service providers;
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Acting for suppliers, distributors and manufacturers in defence of product liability and recall claims brought at general law and under the Competition and Consumer Act;
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Acting in building and construction disputes, including claims involving defective or incomplete works, misrepresentation and breach of statutory warranty claims;
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Defence of professional indemnity claims brought against accountants, financial advisors and tax agents;
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Acting for allied health providers, including in relation to personal injury, property damage and business interruption claims brought by clients and end-customers; and
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Advising and acting in crime and fidelity claims.