Barristers – Medical Negligence

Clint Bowman was first called to the Bar in 2015. He specialises in disciplinary proceedings, public and administrative law, inquests and inquiries, personal injury, medical negligence and commercial matters.

Clint has a particular interest in health law matters and has a unique insight in those matters because of his prior career as a registered nurse. He has a particular interest in disciplinary and regulatory proceedings relating to professionals, and has experience representing organisations, practitioners and regulators in those matters.

As a lifelong basketballer and sport enthusiast, Clint also has an interest in sport related matters. His regulatory and disciplinary background is directly transferable to sport conduct and disciplinary proceedings.

Prior to coming to the private Bar, Clint was:

• a solicitor in a leading national personal injuries firm.
• a solicitor and barrister in various government agencies, practicing in disciplinary, regulatory, administrative and commercial matters, in the legal, health, construction and electricity fields.
• a senior associate in a leading health law team in a highly regarded commercial practice, specialising in aged and disability care matters and capacity issues.

Clint Bowman appears pro bono in immigration and civil matters through the Federal Court and HopgoodGanim Lawyers pro bono referral schemes.

Clint’s recent experience at the Bar, includes:

• Inquest into the deaths of Rachel McCrow, Matthew Arnold, Alan Dare, Gareth Train, Nathaniel Train and Stacey Train (2024), as co-counsel for the Dare family.
• Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia v Munoz [2025] QCAT 164, unled.
• Paramedicine Board of Australia v Loveridge [2025] QCAT 101, unled.
• Paramedicine Board of Australia and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia v Nehring [2025] QCAT 239, unled.
• Siale and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2025] FCA 608, as co-counsel for Mr Siale.

Claire Bruggemann was called to the Bar in 2025 after a 16 year career as a solicitor in private practice.

She specialises in personal injury and insurance litigation, having acted for both plaintiffs and defendants throughout her career. Claire was a WorkCover Queensland panel lawyer for over 10 years.

Claire accepts briefs in all aspects of personal injury including workers’ compensation, motor vehicle, public liability, historical institutional abuse and medical negligence.

Anna Crawford has a broad civil and criminal practice, with a focus on commercial litigation, professional indemnity, public law, medical and health law, and employment law. She acts at all stages of litigation, from advice and commencement of proceedings through to alternative dispute resolution and trial, in State and Federal Courts and Tribunals. Anna regularly appears unled in the civil, criminal and inquisitorial jurisdictions of the Supreme, District, Magistrates, Coroners and Children’s Courts of Queensland, along with the Federal Courts, and has appeared unled in the Queensland Court of Appeal.

Since commencing her readership at the Bar in October 2024, Anna has drawn on her prior experience as a Solicitor, where she practised in medical negligence, health law and professional liability, including representing clients in regulatory proceedings across the public and private health sectors. She also maintains a sports law practice, leveraging her background as an elite athlete, and has acted for and against sporting bodies in governance, employment and disciplinary matters.

Anna was admitted as a Solicitor in 2019.  Prior to coming to the Bar, Anna was a Senior Associate at Barry Nilsson Lawyers.

Below is a selection of recent cases Anna has appeared in:

• Mercieca v Department of Transport and Main Roads [2026] QCAT 28
• Singleton v Direct Personnel Services Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 259 
• Coronial Inquest into the death of Alexandria Catherine Forrester 

Geoffrey Diehm KC commenced practice as a barrister at the Brisbane bar in 1991. He took silk in 2008.

He holds an LLB and an LLM from the Queensland University of Technology.

He practices in health law, insurance and personal injuries law, public and administrative law, commercial law and succession law. He has regularly appeared in Federal and State superior courts as well as the Land Court, the Coroners Court and various tribunals.

He has extensive experience representing hospitals, medical practitioners and other health care providers in civil proceedings, administrative proceedings including disciplinary proceedings, and in inquests. He has appeared for a variety of clients in a number of Commissions of Inquiry. He regularly acts for and advises governments and agencies of government, corporations, insurers and individuals in a wide range of matters.

He is an experienced trial and appellate counsel and has been involved in very many mediations, as well as having acted as a mediator and an arbitrator.

Clare was called to the bar in 2024.

Prior to transitioning to the private Bar, Clare practiced in both Australia and the UK, having commenced her legal career in personal injury litigation in 2002 and going on to become admitted as a Solicitor in Queensland in 2010.

Clare has practiced almost exclusively in injury litigation for the duration of her career, specialising in catastrophic injury claims and medical law claims (including claims involving: delay in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, failure to treat, lack of informed consent and failure to warn of treatment risks).

Clare also became a nationally accredited mediator in 2021.

Clare’s practice at the Bar involves all areas of personal injury litigation, medical negligence litigation, coronial inquests and mediation.

Following 10 years practising as a solicitor in large national and international firms, Jane commenced practice as a barrister in 2009. As an advocate she has a broad practice encompassing commercial, insurance, personal injury, professional negligence, medical negligence, building and construction, administrative, estate, family law (property) and tax disputes. Jane appears alone in applications, trials, appeals and other hearings in both State and Federal jurisdictions. Jane also leads junior counsel.

Jane is also an accredited Mediator and Farm Debt Mediator. Her mediation practice extends to disputes in:

• Wills & Estates;
• Commercial;
• Personal Injury;
• Historical abuse;
• Medical Negligence;
• Professional Indemnity;
• Complex Family Law property matters;
• International recovery of children; and
• Tax.

Jane holds degrees in Law and Business (Accounting) from QUT, as well as a Master Advocate Designation from the National Institute of Trial Advocacy in the USA. In addition to her practice at the Bar, Jane has taught advocacy and trial skills to trial lawyers and barristers in Australia, Bhutan and the USA since 2010
Jane has chambers in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.

Jane was appointed King’s Counsel in 2025.

Jennifer was called to the Bar in 2016.

Jennifer has a broad civil practice with an emphasis on insurance and personal injuries law, including claims involving health law and medical negligence, workers’ compensation, historical abuse and dust diseases. She also practises in administrative, public and general commercial law.

Jennifer has appeared, both led and unled, in Federal and State courts (including appellate courts), as well as the Coroner’s Court, the Land Court and a range of tribunals. She has appeared in the High Court on applications for special leave and appeals.

She regularly represents insurers, government and statutory authorities, medical practitioners, allied health practitioners and other professionals in common law claims, as well as investigations and disciplinary proceedings.

Prior to commencing at the Bar, Jennifer was a solicitor at Minter Ellison and was Associate to His Honour Judge Rackemann.

Kevin has a practice which has a strong focus on insurance work and all allied areas including statutory and equitable issues. He has been in private practice as a barrister in Brisbane since 1991.

Areas of practice in which Kevin is briefed also include:

• APPELLATE
• AGRIBUSINESS
• MEDIATORS
• COMMERCIAL
• CORONIAL INQUESTS & COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY
• PERSONAL INJURIES
• PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE
• REGULATORY TRIBUNALS
• INSURANCE
• WORKCOVER
• EMPLOYMENT & INDUSTRIAL
• SUPERANNUATION
• TOTAL PERMANENT DISABILITY CLAIMS
• CONTRACT
• MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
• SPORTS LAW
• OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
• PRODUCT LIABILITY
• TORTS (OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURIES)
• VETERANS’ ENTITLEMENTS
• EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & DISCRIMINATION

Kevin is briefed by a number of law firms that act for commercial insurers and also is briefed by Crown Law.

Kevin’s practice also includes advising local government bodies (LGM Queensland).

Kevin has acted as a mediator in a wide range of matters.

He also regularly appears in all Queensland Courts.

Kevin has an interest in veterans entitlements and is interested in developing his practice in that respect also.

Recognised as a skillful advocate and astute negotiator, Alex Katsikalis has developed a practice with a focus on complex matters which have established him as one of the leading Counsel in the fields of insurance and medical negligence. Alex has practised at the bar in Brisbane since 2011, and his practice has since expanded outside of Queensland to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Further to his prominence in the medical negligence and insurance spheres, Alex is also widely experienced in other areas including banking, finance, trusts and superannuation. He has been briefed in several appellate matters before the Court of Appeal of Queensland and High Court of Australia.

Alex Katsikalis is relied upon by his clients for his ability to cut through the complexities of a matter and to identify the issues that are truly at its heart, and is known for his meticulous preparation of advices and his level-headed and innovative responses to practical issues that arise in litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

EXPERIENCE

Medical Negligence

Alex has gained a profound knowledge of medical practice over the years, and he has applied this nuanced skill set in hundreds of matters involving many types of medical negligence cases. Some examples of his experience in this area include the following:

• Representing plaintiffs in various matters involving misdiagnosis or mistreatment of spinal cord abscesses, vascular injuries, liver poisoning, fractures, pulmonary embolism, meningitis, many different types of cancer, acute bacterial endocarditis, sepsis, kidney disease and colon perforation, many of which resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements;
• A high-profile case determined by the Court of Appeal, involving a general practitioner’s failure to detect and diagnose the presence of cryptococcal meningitis, which resulted in one of the largest awards of damages in Queensland;
• Complex matters involving perioperative care and surgical errors, including anaesthetic mismanagement of patients and errors made during plastic and reconstructive surgery;
• Appearing in a High Court matter involving the duty of care of paramedics, which considered the reasonableness of medical care performed in exigent circumstances, and the importance of manuals in determining breach at common law;
• Acting and securing large settlements for child plaintiffs in complex birth injury claims. One example includes a child who unfortunately developed cerebral palsy requiring substantial future care and assistance, which resulted in a settlement for more than $12,000,000.00;
• Acting for mothers who have sustained trauma during childbirth (such as prolapse, levator avulsion, 3^rd or 4^th degree tears, or pudendal nerve injuries); and
• A significant claim involving failures by a hospital, general practitioner and radiologist to adequately treat a nerve sheath tumour resulting in spinal cord injuries. Interlocutory applications in that matter led to seminal jurisprudence on the statutory limitation of actions, and what constitutes a plaintiff becoming aware of a material fact of a decisive character.

Insurance

Instructed by both plaintiffs and defendants, Alex has appeared in hundreds of insurance cases relating to personal injuries and other liability claims, covering many different case types from motor vehicle accidents to product liability. The following are some examples of interest:

• Acting for the plaintiff in a major personal injury matter that led to a seminal Supreme Court decision about obviousness of risks and dangerous recreational activities – elements of Queensland’s Civil Liability Act which had previously lacked useful jurisprudence;
• A significant workers’ compensation claim determined by the Court of Appeal, testing the principles of the tort of negligence in the context of manual musculoskeletal injuries sustained over a prolonged period in the workplace;
• Acting for insurers in a multitude of cases, both in Queensland and interstate, applying his expertise in negotiations to deliver favourable outcomes for his clients; and
• Representing the plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident claim involving catastrophic injuries, which resulted in one of the largest settlements in the State’s history, exceeding $20,000,000.00.

Commercial Law

Alex has advised on and appeared in various matters relating to banking and finance, and owing to his international experience working in the financial sector and his degree in Commerce, he is astute at dealing with very complex financial arrangements. Some prominent examples include:

• An important banking matter in which the Court of Appeal recognised that the Code of Banking Practice binds banks and forms part of bank guarantees. This case raised the topics of agency, estoppel and the general functions of appellate courts, including the Anshun estoppel and the principles from Fox v Percy; and
• A complex contractual matter determined by the Court of Appeal involving 23 parties about a proposal to form and run a real estate company, requiring scrutiny of parties’ intentions to create legal relations, and more generally, dealing with a tension between the principles of contract law and commercial realities.

Other areas of practice

Over the years, Alex Katsikalis’ practice has also expanded into other areas of the law, including property law, trusts, superannuation and criminal law. The various matters he has worked on include:

• Representing the plaintiff in an intricate matter relating to trusts and superannuation which over the course of more than a decade traversed each level of the Queensland court system and was heard by several boards, the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal and ultimately by the High Court in a special leave application. Alex became involved towards the end of the protracted dispute, and was required to exercise his knowledge of trustee-beneficiary relationships and their co-existence with contractual relationships. The matter also concerned elements of administrative law and questions of natural justice;
• Appearing in the Land Court of Queensland in a matter about whether compensation was payable for the compulsory acquisition of land, requiring analysis of planning approvals, the nature of interests in resumed land, and elements of evidence law; and
• Acting for the defendant in a hearing before the Court of Appeal, which ultimately overturned a criminal conviction of unlawful killing, relying on medical evidence to show the prosecution had not sufficiently proven causation.

Katrina Kluss practises predominantly in the areas of:

• equity and trusts;
• wills and estates litigation;
• professional and medical negligence;
• public and product liability.

Katrina regularly appears in both State and Federal Courts in appeals, trials, and contested applications, and appears both led and unled in the Court of Appeal. She also appears pro bono for clients referred through LawRight’s Pro Bono Connect program.

Katrina has been consistently recognised in Doyle’s Guide as leading counsel in Wills and Estates Litigation in both Queensland and Australia.

Katrina holds a PhD in Law, an LLM (Applied Law), and undergraduate degrees in Law (Hons) and Psychological Science. She has also published various chapters in legal textbooks in both Australia and the United States of America.

Andrew Luchich commenced practice as a barrister in Brisbane in 2004, following a period as a solicitor with a strong focus on medical negligence. Since being called to the Queensland Bar, he has continued to specialise in this area, frequently appearing in civil claims involving medical practitioners and hospitals, as well as Coronial Inquests, including those related to aviation incidents.

He has appeared in all Queensland courts and frequently represents medical practitioners and allied health professionals in disciplinary proceedings before QCAT. His broader personal injury practice includes acting for both defendants (through insurers) and plaintiffs in motor vehicle accident claims, workers’ compensation matters, and public liability disputes.

With extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, Andrew has participated in hundreds of mediations and is available to act as a mediator in personal injury disputes.

Andrew has been consistently recognised in Doyle’s Guide as:

• Preeminent Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel – Queensland: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Leading Insurance and Personal Injuries Junior Counsel – Queensland: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019

Mark is a leading barrister for advocacy and advice in disciplinary proceedings, regulatory matters, and criminal cases in Queensland and the federal courts. Mark joined the private Bar in January 2011 and took silk in 2024.

Mark appears in trials, appeals and summary hearings, and is also available to provide investigation-stage advice and to appear at inquests and in commissions of inquiry.

Mark is an expert in federal criminal law, Queensland criminal law, and in proceedings under the Mental Health Act 2016 (Qld).

Educated at QUT, Mark was admitted as a barrister in 2000 and spent 10 years in-house at the Commonwealth DPP. From 2008 to 2010, Mark was a Senior Assistant Director at the Commonwealth DPP until joining the private Bar.

Mark is a member of the author team for Butler and Holt’s Indictable Offences Queensland [Thomson Reuters] and has previously been a part time/reserve Legal Officer in the Australian Defence Force.

Mark accepts prosecution and defence briefs and is highly sought after as a formidable and effective advocate at either end of the bar table.

Mark is based in Brisbane but accepts briefs throughout Queensland in state and federal matters, and around Australia in federal matters.

Bianca Stringer was called to the Bar in October 2022, following an established career in health law. She specialises in medical negligence claims, disciplinary proceedings, coronial inquests and statutory investigations, and public and administrative law matters.

Bianca has represented plaintiffs, practitioners, hospitals, and insurers in a wide range of health law matters. She has a particular interest in the areas of mental health and the law, as well as the emergence of artificial intelligence being used in both sectors.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Bianca was an Associate at Corrs Chambers Westgarth in the Health Law and Policy and Commercial Litigation teams and was an Associate to the Members and Deputy Presidents of the General Division of the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal. She also has extensive experience in health regulation having worked for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for close to 9 years, including in senior leadership positions.

Bianca appears pro bono for families in coronial inquests through Caxton Legal Centre. She is a regular contributor to the LexisNexis publication Australian Health Law Bulletin and has presented on many topics of interest related to health law.

Bianca’s recent experience at the Bar includes:

• White v Brisbane City Council [2025] QSC 318, led by Mr R Douglas KC
• ZBGS and National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS), Re [2025] ARTA 2741, unled
• Inquest into the death of Kane Minion (2025), unled (adjourned for findings)
• Inquest into the death of AB (2025), unled
• Inquest into the death of Jordon Robert Crocker (2025), unled
• Queensland Alumina Limited v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2025] QIRC 182, unled
• Rodgers v Chinsee [2024] QDC 055, led by Mr D Schneidewin
• Inquest into the death of Audrey Yvette Carrick (2024), pro bono for the Family of Mrs Carrick
• Mills v Footprints Community Ltd (ABN 15 100 277 492) [2023] QDC 48, unled

After more than 11 years in practice as a solicitor, Grant was called to the bar in May 2023.

He has a broad civil practice with a focus on insurance litigation and personal injuries law, including matters involving medical negligence, workers’ compensation, public liability and motor vehicle claims.

Grant regularly appears in all Queensland Courts, acting on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants.

Prior to being called to the bar, Grant worked for the largest medical indemnity insurer in Australia managing complex medical negligence litigation and medical professional disciplinary matters.

Grant undertakes regular pro-bono work through the Caxton Legal Centre and Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion.

Kara is an experienced personal injury practitioner, having earned specialist accreditation in personal injury law before being called to the Bar in 2024. She has represented both plaintiffs and defendants across Queensland, including in North Queensland.

Before transitioning to the Bar, Kara built a diverse career, dedicating significant time to giving back to the profession. She served as a Councillor of the Queensland Law Society for eight years, including terms as Vice President and President. Kara also served as a non-executive director of the Law Council of Australia in 2022–2023 and was the Legal Member of the former Prostitution Licensing Authority.

In 2023, Kara received the prestigious Leneen Forde AC Woman Lawyer of the Year Award. She was also a finalist for Mentor of the Year in 2019 (Lawyers Weekly).

Kara accepts briefs across a wide range of matters, with particular expertise in insurance advocacy, personal injury work (including catastrophic claims, historical abuse, and medical negligence), regulatory issues, inquests, and civil litigation.