Ben Bradley

Appeared as junior counsel for a building and construction company in relation to a dispute arising from the purported repudiation of a joint venture deed for a multi-level mixed residential and commercial development.

Appeared as junior counsel with a team of solicitors, barristers and trial advocates from NSW, Hong Kong and New York on behalf of an EPC contractor. The dispute was conducted pursuant to the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), with Singapore being the seat of the Arbitration. The value of the competing claims exceeded US $1-billion and provided an excellent opportunity to work with leading industry experts from across the globe.

Appeared as junior counsel for a large engineering firm in a dispute concerning the collapse of part of the Lane Cove Tunnel.

Acted for a building contractor in relation to purported failure to comply with s. 13(8) of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) and related offences under the Crimes Act 1900.

Appeared as junior counsel for a leading engineering contractor in an arbitration heard in Australia and Dubai. It concerned a purported breach of the honesty and fairness obligation contained within standard form clause 23 of AS2124-1992.

Appeared for the appellant in a long-running dispute concerning the proper scope of special privileges afforded by way of a common property rights by-laws pursuant to s.142(b) of the Strata Scheme Management Act 2015 and its intersection with Part 6 Division 1 of that Act. Following argument before his Honour Wright J in 2021, the appeal from the decision of the Appeal Panel was ultimately allowed by consent and the original decision of the Tribunal left undisturbed; see the Owners- Strata Plan No 63731 v B&G Trading Pty Limited & Ors [2020] NSWCATCD.

Ben appears and advises corporate, government and insurer clients in various building and infrastructure disputes. Ben has appeared in various jurisdictions throughout Australia as well as in arbitrations here and overseas. Some of the significant matters Ben has been involved with include:

Appeared for health interests in relation to the death of a player during the Northern Rivers Rugby League preliminary final in 2016. One of the issues in focus during the inquest was the systems associated with aeromedical dispatch in circumstances involving a traumatic arrest.

Ben acted for health interests in an inquest involving the restrain of an MDMA-effected patient.

Appeared for health interests in relation to the shooting death of a man in the context of methylamphetamine intoxication.

Appeared for health interests in relation to the death of a man who passed away in an ambulance. The inquest focussed on inter-agency cooperation and protocols.

Appeared for health interests in relation to the death in custody of a man of the Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Murrawarri people.

Appeared for a psychologist in relation to a death of a young infant in tragic circumstances. The focus of the inquest was on the adequacy of care by the then Department of Family and Community Services, Local Community Mental Health teams and compliance with section 27 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

Appeared on behalf of health interests in relation to a man who was attended by paramedics in the context of a mental health emergency and later went missing before being located deceased. The focus of the inquest was on NSW Police Missing Persons Standard Operating Procedures.

Appeared on behalf of health interests in relation to the death of a custodial patient with mental health issues held on remand at the MRRC. The inquest focussed on the role of interpretative services in a custodial setting.

Appeared on behalf of health interests in relation to the death of an inmate held on remand who sustained a ruptured berry brain aneurysm.

Appeared on behalf of the interests of a leading quaternary health facility in relation to the death of a patient who self-removed a central venous catheter following a successful bilateral lung and heart transplant.

Appeared on behalf of health interests in relation to the death in custody of a mentally ill man suffering a schizoaffective disorder. The inquest considered a substantially revised model of custodial care devised by those interests and which is presently under consideration by government.

Appeared for a senior psychiatrist in relation to the death in custody of a patient with severe chronic schizophrenia.  The psychiatrist was not the subject of adverse comment.

Appeared on behalf of health interests in relation to the death of an infant following inadvertent oesophageal intubation during anaesthesia.

Appeared on behalf of an anaesthetist in relation to the passing of a bariatric patient who suffered a fatal post-operative cardiac arrythmia, secondary to acute kidney injury.

Appeared for health interests in relation to a Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy of an infant with Frusemide identified in post-mortem toxicology.

Ben has extensive experience in appearing for parties with sufficient interest at inquests. Ben frequently appears on behalf of medical and allied health professionals and institutions, though has also assisted families, sporting and other organisations. Some of the recent inquests Ben has been involved in include:

Appeared for a child who sustained psychiatric injury following the death of her father from diffuse cerebral oedema and brain herniation secondary to obstructive hydrocephalus. The matter settled without admission.

Acted for health interests in relation to a claim by a person under legal incapacity for wrongful death of her father. An issue in dispute was whether an entitlement to damages for loss of services under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 is precluded by section 15 of the Civil Liability Act 2005 (see Coote v Kelly; Northam v Kelly [2016] NSWSC 1447 and Goddard v Central Coast Health Network [2013] NSWSC 1932). The matter was settled without admission.

Acted for health interests in relation to an allegation made by a patient under legal incapacity of delayed diagnosis of a central cord syndrome. The matter was settled without admission.

Ben frequently provides advice to insurers in relation to the proper construction and operation of various different standard form and bespoke policies. In recent times, this has included providing advice in relation to the proper operation of cross-liability clauses, reasonable precaution conditions, continuous cover and notification clauses in general liability and construction works policies of insurance.

In addition, Ben advises and appears for defendants in numerous professional indemnity disputes. Some recent professional indemnity disputes in which Ben has been involved include: