Luke is a Special Counsel in our Sydney Insurance (Statutory Classes) Practice Group and has over 9 years’ experience in all classes of statutory insurance, with a focus on workers compensation, industrial common law liability and statutory indemnity claims.
He has a specialised interest in common law claims, advising and representing private employers and government agencies in complex claims across various industries including the mining, emergency services, health, transport, and aged care sectors.
Luke is adept at working with all stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcomes in both litigated and un-litigated disputes throughout each stage of the claims process, including claims arising from physical and psychological injuries, multiple dates of injury and pathologies, and those claims involving the interaction of different legislative regimes, including the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and Civil Liability Act 2002.
Expertise
Experience
- A client Successfully arguing that the plaintiff’s formal cause of action was “materially different” for the purpose of striking out the plaintiff’s claim under Section 318 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 and confirming the scope of what is defined as “other tort” under Section 151E of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 – Matthews v State of New South Wales [2023] NSWSC 1419.
- A client Successfully overturning the primary judge’s findings on liability and clarifying the scope of duty owed to employees – Coalroc Contractors Pty Ltd v Matinca (No 2) [2023] NSWCA 127.
- A client Successfully defending a criminal prosecution under Section 264 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 – Heise v Employers Mutual Limited [2022] NSWCA 283.
- A client Clarified whether a party was entitled to have separate legal representation where proceedings involved two separate causes of action – Harris v Western NSW Local Health District [2021] NSWSC 1395.
- A client Successfully arguing that the trial judge could exercise discretion in requiring an issue of estoppel to be determined by a Notice of Motion, and that is was a matter of procedure. Also confirming that the trial judge had the discretion to order a plaintiff to submit to medical testing – Dariverenli v South Eastern Sydney Local Health District [2019] NSWCA 129.