David Foster
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David Foster
by Redda Thu 16 Jan 2014, 08:29
I like the bottom few lines!!! Families of those killed in the sinking of Voyager attempted to claim compensation for their losses, while survivors tried to make claims for post-traumatic stress and similar ailments.[80] A 1965 High Court ruling prevented armed forces personnel from suing the government for compensation, although the wife of the dockyard worker killed in the collision was able to make a successful claim.[81] The ruling was overturned in 1982.[81] Cases for compensation were lodged by Voyager survivors and their families, and during the 1990s, sailors from Melbourne began to make similar legal claims.[82][81]
Both groups were met with heavy legal opposition from the Australian government, with Commonwealth representatives contending that those making claims were opportunistically trying to blame a single incident for a range of life problems and had fabricated or embellished their symptoms, or were otherwise making not credible claims.[80][83] By May 2008, 35 cases were still ongoing, two from dependants of Voyager sailors killed in the collision, the remainder from Melbourne sailors.[80] A further 50 cases had been closed in 2007 following mediation.[80] The final of 214 compensation cases related to the incident was closed in July 2009.[84] Some cases had been open for more than ten years, costing the government millions of dollars a year in legal costs.[80]
In 2008, the handling of some Voyager survivors' cases was investigated by the Law Institute of Victoria, after they made complaints about the discrepancies between what they were awarded and what was received: for example, one sailor only received $72,000 from a $412,000 settlement.[85] All of the complaints were from cases handled by David Forster of Hollows Lawyers, who handled 89 of the 214 total cases; these resulted in a total settlement of $23 million.[85][81] Investigations found major accounting issues, including apparent double-charging for work done, and charging full fees after they were discounted or completely written off.[81][85] In 2010, receivers were called in, this was followed by the cancellation of Forster's law practising certificate in December 2011, and proceedings against Forster in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal are due to commence on 10 February 2014; the 50th anniversary of the collision.[81][85]
See also[edit]
Both groups were met with heavy legal opposition from the Australian government, with Commonwealth representatives contending that those making claims were opportunistically trying to blame a single incident for a range of life problems and had fabricated or embellished their symptoms, or were otherwise making not credible claims.[80][83] By May 2008, 35 cases were still ongoing, two from dependants of Voyager sailors killed in the collision, the remainder from Melbourne sailors.[80] A further 50 cases had been closed in 2007 following mediation.[80] The final of 214 compensation cases related to the incident was closed in July 2009.[84] Some cases had been open for more than ten years, costing the government millions of dollars a year in legal costs.[80]
In 2008, the handling of some Voyager survivors' cases was investigated by the Law Institute of Victoria, after they made complaints about the discrepancies between what they were awarded and what was received: for example, one sailor only received $72,000 from a $412,000 settlement.[85] All of the complaints were from cases handled by David Forster of Hollows Lawyers, who handled 89 of the 214 total cases; these resulted in a total settlement of $23 million.[85][81] Investigations found major accounting issues, including apparent double-charging for work done, and charging full fees after they were discounted or completely written off.[81][85] In 2010, receivers were called in, this was followed by the cancellation of Forster's law practising certificate in December 2011, and proceedings against Forster in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal are due to commence on 10 February 2014; the 50th anniversary of the collision.[81][85]
See also[edit]
Redda- Number of posts : 2
Age : 78
Location : Essendon,Melbourne
Humor : Very
Registration date : 2013-01-05
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