Scott is a Partner in our Compulsory Third Party Team.
Scott has been with Moray & Agnew since completing his Law degree. He has specialised in compulsory third party (CTP) insurance since 1995 and acts for all NSW CTP insurers.
Experience & expertise
Scott’s broad experience at all levels of both state and federal courts has given him an array of expertise to draw upon.
He has appeared in all civil jurisdictions of the courts in NSW, including the Local, District and Supreme courts, the Court of Appeal and the Administrative Law Division. He has successfully defended two applications to the High Court.
He has appeared extensively in the PIC and in CARS matters under the previous Motor Accidents Compensation Act, in addition to other ADR avenues.
Scott has extensive experience in the drafting of Damages and Medical Assessment submissions under the Motor Accidents Injuries Act, and previously in CARS and MAS under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act.
Scott and his team regularly draft both applications and replies to requests for assessments in relation to mostly at fault and miscellaneous disputes, in addition to medical disputes involving threshold injury, treatment and whole person impairment disputes as well as applications for reviews of such decisions where appropriate.
He has had significant success in overturning unfavourable decisions, including obtaining a costs order against the Regulator.
He has extensive experience in administrative law actions involving decisions from the PIC together with the former CARS and MAS, both as an applicant and respondent.
In addition to more traditional litigation and structured PIC disputes, Scott has extensive experience in other areas of alternative dispute resolution including mediation and informal settlement conferencing.
He has appeared extensively as an advocate in the statutory claims assessment process under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 and more recently in the Motor Accidents Injuries Act 2017, in addition to more traditional court proceedings.
As part of his practice, Scott has regularly handled catastrophic claims involving estimates in excess of $2.5 million. He has acted in claims involving brain injuries, traumatic amputations of limbs, pure nervous shock, psychiatric injuries / PTSD and complicated orthopaedic injuries. He has regularly handled claims under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 (NSW), and those involving reduction of life expectancy and claims of total incapacity.
Work highlights
Examples of Scott’s experience include:
- Acting on behalf of CTP insurers and successfully negotiated concessions of dual insurance from a workers compensation insurer
- Acting on behalf of CTP insurers where indemnity issues have been identified and used to secure heavily compromised settlements, or resulted in the CTP insurer not being required to indemnify the insured at all
- Successfully negotiated verdicts for the defendant in numerous actions brought by plaintiffs where there were liability issues, in addition to recovery actions by workers compensation insurers and claims for contribution made by other CTP and non-CTP insurers
- Negotiating a favourable settlement in a matter where an infant passenger in a vehicle suffered a hangman’s fracture. This included a 45% contribution from the relevant road authority
- Successfully defended numerous claims brought against the Nominal Defendant on the grounds the accident did not occur on a road or road related area open to the public
- Successfully seen claims withdrawn where an entitlement to damages was not ultimately made out
- Regularly conducts periodic file reviews/clinics for insurer clients’ and one-off special projects.
Professional background
