1 in 3 women who give birth will experience birth trauma, and yet so few people know about it. Birth trauma refers to injuries sustained in childbirth, either to the mother or the child.

It is the unspoken reality for many women and that’s why it is important that we raise awareness of what birth trauma is and normalise having discussions about it.

This year 19 to 25 July is Birth Trauma Awareness Week. To do our part to raise awareness, we are releasing a special episode of the podcast.

In this episode I am joined by my colleague and senior solicitor Linda Crawford to discuss a few of the birth trauma cases that the health law team at Catherine Henry Lawyers have been involved in.

These cases will demonstrate how traumatic injuries sustained in childbirth can be and how it can have lifelong consequences for the child, the mother, and the father.

Facebook: link to the Growing Stronger Podcast Group 

Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA)

NOTES:

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

Warning

This topic may be considered disturbing – there will be brief discussion of medical procedures and adverse medical outcomes. Listener discretion is advised.

 

In this episode Tanya is joined by health law specialists Tom Lyons and Lucie Dei Rocini to discuss the disturbing medical surgeries that resulted in Dr Blackstock being removed from the register of medical practitioners and banned from practicing medicine for 7 years.

For many years Dr Blackstock performed breast augmentation operations with inadequate planning, substandard techniques, antiquated methods and in some cases in a way that was sure to result in negative outcomes for his patients.

Although not an elder law case, I wanted to cover this case because there may be other patients who don’t realise that they aren’t to blame for their botched surgeries or that they can seek damages for the harm done to them.

This is a case where being better informed can help people protect themselves and stand up for themselves.

Case citation: Health Care Complaints Commission v Blackstock [2020] NSWCATAD 110

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Notes

The case discussed in the episode is a NSW case, so what we’re discussing will be based on the law in NSW and is not intended to be taken to be applied Australia-wide.

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (15 July) we are looking at a form of elder abuse that has been going on for decades but isn’t as recognised: It is the act of identifying an older person who is alone, vulnerable, and not expected to live long; insinuating yourself into that person’s life with an intention of getting a financial benefit either while the older person is alive or on their death.

The person in this case took it a step further when she forged the older person’s Will. She almost got away with it too, but several years after the death police began investigating the suspect Will and criminal charges were laid.

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Case citation: Adams v R [2019] NSWCCA 295

 Link to the episode notes

Notes:The case discussed in the episode is a NSW case, so what we’re discussing will be based on the law in NSW and is not intended to be taken to be applied Australia-wide.While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

In our previous episode we looked at the case of a forged Will and in researching that case we heard about another suspicious Will made around the same time. 

After the death of Herbert Luscombe, a lady claiming to have been his partner come forward with a document that she claimed was his last Will. No one in Herbert’s life had ever heard of this woman and there was quite a few questions raised around the execution of this “Will”.

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Case citation: Alan John Hyland as executor of the estate of the late John Walter Popham Luscombe v Laura Healy [2013] NSWSC 1513

Link to episode notes

Notes:The case discussed in the episode is a NSW case, so what we’re discussing will be based on the law in NSW and is not intended to be taken to be applied Australia-wide.While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

Tanya is joined by Wills & Estates lawyer Monique Smiles to discuss a case in which an elderly woman changed her Will to make no provision for her family and leave everything to a couple she had only known a short while. There were concerns about financial elder abuse and neglect, but was there enough evidence to make a case? 

Tanya also discusses the case of Drivas v Jakopovic in which the expert medical evidence said that the testator did not have capacity but the solicitor who prepared the Will felt that she did. Which one was right?

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Case citation: Drivas v Jakopovic [2019] NSWCA 2018

Link to episode notes

Notes:

The case discussed in the episode is a NSW case, so what we’re discussing will be based on the law in NSW and is not intended to be taken to be applied Australia-wide.

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

Guest: Ashlea Taylor, Family Law Solicitor

We look at the family law case of Fairbairn v Radecki [2020] in which a couple have been living in the woman’s house as de facto partners. The women has dementia and declines rapidly; she moves into a nursing home and her house needs to be sold to pay her accommodation fees. The only problem is that her de facto partner refuses to leave the house.

The woman’s appointed guardian claims that the couple has separated and starts court proceedings to get the partner out of the house. But how do we know if they really separated???

Because this is a family law case, we need a family law expert. We are joined by family lawyer Ashlea Taylor (link to profile) to help us understand the outcome of this case and to provide some additional tips for de facto partners.

Link to the Growing Stronger Podcast group on Facebook - Join us! 

Case citation: Radecki & Fairbairn [2020] FamCAFC 307; Fairbairn & Radecki [2020] FCCA 1556'

Link to case notes

Notes:

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

Case citation: Taunton v Taunton [2019] NSWSC 1513

The case we cover in this episode demonstrates how hard it can be for a parent to evict an adult child, even from the parent’s own home.

An adult son moved back home to live with his parents and provide them with care and assistance. When the father moved into residential aged care and the house had to be sold to pay for his accommodation fees, the son refused to leave. What did the father need to do?

Link to episode notes. 

NOTE:

The case discussed in the episode is a NSW case, so what we’re discussing will be based on the law in NSW and is not intended to be taken to be applied Australia-wide.

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

Warning

This topic may disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

An Advance Care Directive is a document which records your wishes and instructions for medical treatment you would want to receive, if you have lost the capacity to give instructions, including instructions to cease life-sustaining treatments.

In this episode, Tanya explains what Advance Care Directives are and why you might want to have one. She also discussed three cases that demonstrate how the documents can be enforced legally.  

Case citation: Hunter and New England Area Health Service v A [2009] NSWSC 761; Re JS [2014] NSWSC 302; X v The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network [2013] NSWCA 320

You can find more useful information on Advance Care Directives on the Advance Care Planning Australia website.

Link to episode notes: https://catherinehenrylawyers.com.au/4-elder-law/podcast/growing-stronger-podcast-ep-4-pulling-the-plug-on-advance-care-directives/

In the latest episode of our podcast Growing Stronger Tanya is joined by elder law specialist Richard McCullagh.

Tanya and Richard discuss a case in which a son was caring for his mother at a time when approx. $1.8million was transfer from her account to him. The son also sold mum’s house and kept the proceeds. After the mother’s death, was the daughter able to get any of it back? 

Case citation: Torok v Becker [2020] NSWSC 1570

Click here to access episode notes

Note

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.

In the latest episode of our podcast Growing Stronger Tanya asks the question ‘What is granny-napping?’

To answer the question, Tanya discusses a case that involved a son using subterfuge to take his mother out of a hospital in NSW across State lines into the ACT. He did this to thwart the authority of the Public Guardian appointed to look after his mother and in total disregard to her medical and care needs. But was he successful?

Case citation: KNQ [2019] NSWCATGD 19

Warning: This topic may be considered to be disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.

Click here to access the episode notes

Note

While this podcast is aimed to be informative, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. For any matter we discuss, we summarise, skip over parts that may be too technical and only generalise. You should still see a solicitor for complete advice that relates directly to your particular situation.