Erin currently acts for domestic and international insurer clients in defending public and property damage liability claims, including complex multi-party and high quantum claims, in jurisdictions across Australia. She also manages the day-to-day conduct of litigated and unlitigated files.
Erin assists in the defence of claims made against a wide range of insured businesses, including occupiers of commercial premises, hoteliers, security companies, construction contractors, recreational facilities and commercial cleaners.
Erin actively contributes to our Pro Bono and Community practice. She co-chairs the Hall & Wilcox Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) committee, which delivered the firm’s first RAP in March 2020. She is also a committee member of InterInsurance, which is a network for employees of insurance organisations to connect and share LGBTQIA+ inclusion practices relevant to the insurance industry.
Experience
- Acting on behalf of a martial arts studio after a member sustained fatal injuries during a training session, including defending a nervous shock claim brought by the deceased’s widow.
- Defending a compensation to relatives claim in the ACT Supreme Court brought by a widow after her husband suffered fatal head injuries at a car festival when he was an unsecured passenger in a vehicle.
- Acting on behalf of sporting governing bodies and not-for-profit organisations in relation to claims which enliven arguments relating to dangerous recreational activity, risk waiver and obvious risk defences.
- Acting on behalf of commercial cleaners in numerous ‘trip and fall’ cases, including successfully obtaining a majority contribution from a shopping centre occupier after a Plaintiff tripped on an uplifted power point cover plate.
- Acting for head contractors and subcontractors in respect of multi-party, high quantum claims arising from injuries sustained at construction sites, including securing judgment in favour of a head contractor in respect of injuries sustained by a labour hire worker at a Sydney construction site.
- Advising aged care providers in respect of demands for compensation following patient fatalities.
- Defending 151Z recovery proceedings commenced by worker’s compensation insurers.
- Acting in a $600,000 recovery action against a faulty battery supplier for a fire causing substantial damage to a residential property, including relying on ‘deemed manufacturer’ provisions under Australian Consumer Law.
- Providing legislative interpretation advice to an Aboriginal Land Council pro bono client regarding a sacred burial ground, leading to an amendment in the legislation by the NSW Government.
Awards and Recognition
Insurance Business Australia’s ‘Young Guns’ List 2020