- Home
- About Us
- Areas Of Law
- Court Litigation Lawyers
- Criminal Law
- Employment / Industrial Law
- Equal Opportunity Claims
- Family Law
- Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
- Public Liability Claims / Personal Injury
- Traffic Matters / Police Matters
- Victims of Crime Claims
- Estates & Inheritance Claims
- Workers Compensation Claims
- Wills and Power of Attorney
- Our Team
- Our Offices
- Contact Us
- News
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE EMPLOYED TO HAVE CONTRIBUTED.
When it comes to defacto separation, just because one partner was not earning an income does not mean they didn’t contribute to the relationship. A recent decision of the Court highlights the importance that is given to non-financial contributions made by one of the spouses. On 1 July 2010 financial issues relating to the breakdown of defacto relationships, which were previously handled by the District Court, were referred by South Australia to the Family Court of Australia. Where parties separated before that date both parties must agree...
read moreIMPRISONED FOR ACCEPTING A GIFT
A man was imprisoned for fourteen days for two charges that included accepting as a gift from a friend a single round of ammunition that he intended to make into a necklace. The man was charged with a number of offences including possession of a slingshot and accepting the ammunition when he did not hold a firearms licence that authorised him to possess a gun designed to fire that type of ammunition. The Court accepted that he did not appreciate it was unlawful to be in possession of a single round and also that he did not believe that the...
read moreWHAT CAN BE DONE TO AVOID DEMERIT POINTS?
When a police fine for a speeding charge is paid or a conviction is recorded in Court, then demerit points are incurred* unless the Court is satisfied that the offence was ‘trifling’ or any other proper cause exists to reduce the number of demerit points. The Supreme Court recently considered the various grounds upon which a person charged with speeding might not incur demerit points. In the case before the Court, the driver pleading guilty to a speeding charge for which the Magistrate imposed a conviction and fine. He had been detected...
read moreHOW INTOXICATION CAN AFFECT A COMPENSATION CLAIM.
A pedestrian who was the victim of a hit and run has had his award of compensation reduced by half from $638,155.02 to $319,077.51 on the basis that he was extremely intoxicated and ought to have been aware that he was creating a situation of danger. The incident was the culmination of a series of altercations involving the occupants of the car involved and one in which the injured person had been travelling. The plaintiff ran on to the road to collect an iron bar that had been thrown a short time earlier from the car in which he had been...
read moreWORK CAPACITY REVIEWS – WHO HAS TO PROVE THEM?
A person injured at work who has been incapacitated and in receipt of income maintenance payments under the SA Workers Compensation scheme for 130 weeks may be subjected to a Work Capacity Review to determine whether the Workers Compensation payments can continue. The question is, “Who has to prove whether the person injured has the capacity to work?” This is an important issue for anyone who has been injured at work and is receiving weekly income maintenance payments. The Supreme Court recently ruled that it is WorkCover who bears the...
read moreUNCERTAINTY ABOUT LUMP SUM COMPENSATION FOR INJURED WORKERS
A person who is injured at work and as a result suffers a permanent disability is entitled to a lump sum payment of compensation based on the percentage of impairment involved under section 43 of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. A recent judgment of the Full Bench of the Workers Compensation Tribunal has noted the continuing confusion that exists with regard to an injured worker’s lump sum entitlements under the current law. In that case the worker suffered a severe injury at work in 2007 when a forklift drove over his foot...
read moreCONTRACTOR GETS INTO HOT WATER – WHEN AN INJURED WORKER CAN SUE
The District Court recently determined that a 50 year old delicatessen worker was entitled to around $440,000 damages after her feet were badly scalded by a jet of hot water when a plumbing fitting failed. In South Australia an injured worker is not permitted to sue their employer for negligence, however she sued the contractor who supplied the plumbing components involved. The Court decided that the contractor was negligent in either not supplying the right fitting or in not properly inspecting and maintaining the connection. The Court...
read moreHOW DO I REVOKE A WILL?
Make sure the legal formalities are followed when you make any change to your legal will or uncertainty and unnecessary expense can result. Recently the Supreme Court was faced with a situation in which a legal will had been made and was held by solicitors, but the client later wrote to them saying that she had made a new will and the one they were holding was cancelled. The problem was, despite exhaustive enquiries and searching no-one could find any record of another will. For a will to be revoked in this way the document must be witnessed...
read moreI’M GUILTY ANYWAY – DO I NEED A LAWYER TO REPRESENT ME IN COURT?
A 17 year old with no previous convictions was sentenced to detention for seven days for driving after his license had been suspended as a result of his having not paid a fine for parking on a yellow line! That penalty was appealed to the Supreme Court which found that the youth should never have been charged with the offence that the police were relying upon. The Court noted that a person who drives when their licence is suspended for non-payment of fines cannot be imprisoned. The youth did not have a lawyer representing him when he pleaded...
read moreCCTV FOOTAGE – DON’T ASSUME POLICE WILL OBTAIN ALL THE EVIDENCE
Hundreds of closed circuit television cameras are dotted throughout the Adelaide CBD capturing the day to day activities of thousands of individuals. Nightclub owners have even been ordered to install a CCTV network before approval is given for a liquor licence. (If you ask Police Security Services how many cameras are operating that they monitor you won’t get that information.) With all these resources available, it is very common nowadays to potentially have video footage of an incident that has formed the basis for a criminal...
read moreConnect With Us
GPO Box 1099, Adelaide, SA 5001
9/111 Gawler Place, Adelaide, SA 5000. (08) 8231 1363
©Copyright WebstersLawyers.com 2011 All Rights Reserved