In this episode of P.I. Case Note, Michelle Wright examines the Queensland District Court’s decision in Hoyes v Wellways Australia Limited [2025] QDC 125, which demonstrates the evidentiary challenges in proving a psychiatric injury claim work under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). The case involved Miss Hoyes, a youth and disability support worker who alleged she developed psychiatric injuries from workplace stressors, including an incident where a client allegedly grabbed her breast and subjected her to inappropriate sexual comments—yet her psychiatric injury claim work was ultimately dismissed on both breach of duty and causation grounds.
The Court’s comprehensive analysis reveals why many psychiatric injury claim work cases fail when employers have reasonable systems in place. Judge Morzone SC found that Wellways had not breached its duty of care, noting the employer provided supervision, training, and debriefing opportunities, and had appropriate policies for managing challenging client behaviors. Critically, the Court found that Miss Hoyes failed to report the alleged breast-grabbing incident to her supervisor or through the formal incident reporting system, despite testifying she was “really scared” and “shaken up” by it. Even if breach of duty had been established, the Court found causation was not proven, as Miss Hoyes’ psychiatric condition appeared to arise from personal relationship issues and family stressors rather than her employment—a common challenge in psychiatric injury claim work litigation where multiple life stressors coexist.
Listen below for Michelle Wright’s detailed analysis of this important decision and its implications for workers pursuing a psychiatric injury claim at work. If you’ve suffered psychological injuries at work, the experienced team at accident legal understands these complex claims. With over 30 years of experience across Queensland, we know the critical importance of contemporaneous incident reporting, proper documentation, and establishing clear causation between work stressors and psychiatric conditions. Contact us for a free consultation on (07) 3740 0200—we’ll help you build the strongest possible psychiatric injury claim work case by ensuring all incidents are properly reported and documented from the outset.
