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NICHOLAS CALNAN

Admission date

Professional experience

Nicholas has worked for Lee & Lyons from since its inception and was made a partner of the firm in June 2008. Nicholas specialises in Dust Diseases, general and product liability and workers compensation claims. Nicholas has advised clients on a broad range of insurance issues including policy coverage, reinsurance, and contractual indemnity disputes arising both under the workers compensation and liability policy wording.

Early in his career Nicholas developed an interest in labour hire and has defended and counselled clients in respect of a range of issues arising from such arrangements. Nicholas has gained a compressive understanding of statutory and general liability policy wordings and has defended claims in most states including New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Nicholas enjoys close relationships with his clients and encourages a open communication and a commercial approach to claims management and litigation.

Some examples of Nicholas' experience include:

Dust Diseases Experience

• Nicholas was the first legal practitioner to arbitrate an insurance dispute in the Dust Diseases Tribunal under the arbitration provisions of the Dust Diseases Tribunal Regulations.
• Successfully defended a major insurer on the grounds that the insured industrial employer company had actual knowledge of the dangers associated with the use of asbestos dust and fibre and failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent the Plaintiff's exposure.
• Acted in a major recovery against the tobacco companies in the Dust Diseases Tribunal on the basis that the Plaintiff's smoking materially contributed to his/her disease.
• Successfully defended a class of large contributions claims brought by sub contractors against a major South Australian retailer.

General Liability

• Successfully defended a major Australian retailer against claims made by both workers and workers compensation insurers.
• Counselled insurers on claims prevention and recovery in circumstances of labour hire.
• Recently defended a major insurer in respect of a shed collapse in WA caused by high winds and advised on the reasonable precautions and reckless conduct provisions of policy wording.
• Secured a 25% sharing of liability on behalf of an industrial occupier of premises in a labour hire claim on the basis that the employer breached its contractual duty to provide fit and competent labour.

Workers Compensation

• Nicholas regularly appears and defends claims in the Workers Compensation Commission on behalf of workers compensation insurers and their insured's both under the 1926 and 1987 Acts.
• Successfully defended an insurance dispute arising under section 18 of the Workers Compensation Act in circumstances where a worker was exposed to sunlight giving rise to skin cancer in the course of his employment.
• Nicholas has handled numerous recoveries under Section 151Z of the Workers Compensation Act with its third party liability insurers and occupiers of premises as joint tort feasors.

Professional and other relevant memberships

• Law Society of New South Wales
• Australian Insurance Lawyers Association