A Hobart partygoer has been awarded $12 million in damages after a punch during a 2014 bar attack left him with a permeant and life altering brain injury.
37-year-old Matthew Leonard spent 40 weeks recovering in hospital after being punched by a now-closed Syrup nightclub crowd controller and hitting his head on the road.
Acting Supreme Court of Tasmania Judge David Porter said Leonard was left with limited mobility, medical problems and unable to return to work following the incident.
Acting Justice Porter awarded Leonard more than $13 million in damages, including $1.5 million for past and future loss of earning capacity, $2 million for ‘special damages’ and medical expenses and $8.5 million for future attendant care.
Funds to help pay for equipment, medicine and therapy, alongside $652,695 for housing and $350,000 for the pain and suffering he experienced and the loss of amenities was also awarded.
The total amount was reduced to $12,490,640 due to Leonard’s “contributory negligence” as he was “unruly, uncooperative and antagonistic” on the night of the attack.
Acting Justice Porter said Leonard, who was 28 at the time, couldn’t remember what happened during the incident or even the night itself, however, it was not disputed that he had been heavily intoxicated on the night.
After being removed from the club, Leonard punched the crowd controller in the face, who retaliated with a punch of his own.
Leonard fell backward and struck his head on the roadway, leading to an emergency craniotomy at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
During the trial, the crowd controller claimed he had only pushed Leonard, but Acting Justice Porter ruled that he had indeed punched him in the face with the intent to cause harm and rejected the self-defense argument.
