Hypothetical by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 14 December 2019.

On 11 December 2019, Santa was performing his annual pre-Christmas present delivery rehearsal. At approximately 2 AM, he was riding his sled over New South Wales, when his lead reindeer, Rudolph, got startled by a flock of migrating Hawk-cuckoos.

Without warning, Rudolph stopped in his tracks, causing his fellow reindeer to violently collide with one another. The sled’s air trajectory came to a sudden halt, causing Santa’s sled to plummet to the ground below.

Fortunately, Santa and his reindeer landed safely in a residential backyard and no one was seriously injured. Santa did however sustain a whiplash injury and many of the presents had been lost or damaged during the descent. Santa was left with no choice but to re-group and fly back to the North Pole to set up a new Christmas present order.

Over the coming days, Santa’s neck pain got progressively worse, so he sought legal advice from Grinch & Co to see if the CTP insurer of his sled could pay for his treatment in order to ensure he recovered quickly enough to deliver Christmas presents on time. His Solicitor, Mr Grinch, advised Santa he was not entitled to treatment expenses as no other person was responsible for the accident.

Unbeknownst to Santa, Mr Grinch intentionally gave the wrong advice as he wanted to hinder Santa’s recovery and in turn, delay his 2019 Christmas present delivery. Had Santa sought a second legal opinion, he would have been told that in NSW, he is entitled to make a compulsory third-party claim against the CTP insurer of his sled for treatment expenses.

The law states that anyone injured in a car (or sled) accident can claim treatment benefits regardless of who, if anyone, was at fault. As a result of this incorrect advice, Santa failed to get the necessary treatment in time for Christmas which may delay his present delivery.

If you would like Manny to address a particular legal issue, send your request to manny.wood@ticliblaxland.com.au or call him on (02) 6648 7487.