Patrick has been practising in civil litigation concerning statutory liability, common law, contract law and the Australian Consumer Law for over 40 years. He has been recognised as a leading practitioner in the General and Professional Liability field by the Doyle’s Guide.
His practice commenced with workers compensation in his first two years as a solicitor, common law in the industrial accident field in the 1980s, public liability from the 1990s including catastrophic cases concerning man-made disasters and construction losses. In this century his practice has evolved to professional indemnity claims and the increasing incidence of mental injury claims relating to historical child sex abuse. The latter area has involved acting in the defence of abuse claims against educational and community based institutions and for insurers where there are indemnity disputes. His clients have included those domiciled in Australia and the United Kingdom.
He has appeared in the Common Law Division of the Supreme Court, the Technical and Construction List of the Equity Division in that Court, Federal and Federal Circuit Courts, District Court and Local Court in this State. In the last 20 years his practice has broadened to be Australia-wide with respect to historical child sex abuse claims. He is recognised as an expert in insurance litigation, as demonstrated by the following testimonial:
“Patrick Thompson has an excellent knowledge of insurance and litigation and publishes many papers on topics of interest to general insurers. He is also described as quiet, tenacious and as understanding client philosophy. He is noted for being clinical, efficient and getting great results”. (Legal Profiles).
His areas of practice include:
- General Insurance Law
- Products and Public Liability Claims
- Property Damage and Pure Economic Loss Claims
- Professional Indemnity Claims
- Policy advice and drafting
- Building and Construction
- Contract Works Litigation
- Personal Injury
- Occupational Health and Safety including the defence of WorkCover prosecutions
His specialist appointments are:
- Accredited Specialist Personal Injury Law NSW
- Arbitrator Supreme Court of New South Wales, Common Law Division
- Arbitrator District Court of New South Wales, Philadelphia Scheme
