Adjudication No. 1204 (July 2003) [2003] APC 20

Adjudication No. 1204 (July 2003)

The Press Council has dismissed complaints by Stephen O'Halloran against The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph.

Both complaints concerned the reporting of a case in which an equine dentist was awarded damages for injuries she sustained when a restaurant chair collapsed as she was trying to get up from it.

In both cases Mr O'Halloran alleged that the reporting was "selective, misleading and biased." He further contended that the reports trivialised and ridiculed the amount awarded to the plaintiff.

Reporters from both papers were present in court when the judgment was delivered and the Press Council has been provided with a copy of the 22 page judgment.

The judgment made it clear that over three quarters of the $588,915 awarded to her was for lost earnings as an equine dentist. The word "libido" is mentioned once only in the judgment and in the context of a psychiatrist's evidence on the consequences to the plaintiff of the fall: "She attributed the breakdown of [her de facto] relationship to her reduced libido and pain which markedly impinged on her capacity to engage in and enjoy a sexual relationship".

Against this background The Sydney Morning Herald reported the case under the headline, Woman awarded $600,00 after losing libido.

The first sentence of the report concentrates on the loss of libido in the matter of damages, but the full report adequately dealt with the other aspects of the damage suffered by the dentist

The Daily Telegraph reported the case on its front page under the heading: Want to know how to get $600,000? FALL OFF THIS CHAIR.

The first two sentences also concentrated on the loss of libido, but again the full report adequately dealt with all the other aspects.

Both newspapers contend that their reports were fair and accurate. On balance, the Council agrees.

However, the Press Council believes that the Telegraph headline of the story tended to suggest unfairly that falling off a three-legged chair was the way to a $600,000 damages award. This was perhaps a reflection of contemporary public concern over the problem of high-damages awards in personal injury cases.