Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgement

After her ‘brilliant boy’ drowned in an unfenced trench in 1937, Mrs Chester took legal action against the local council. Although her claim would ultimately be unsuccessful, the dissenting and empathic judgment of Justice Evatt would mark a critical moment in Australian law and its approach to psychological trauma. In our latest podcast author Gideon Haigh and Associate Professor Kylie Burns examine Justice Evatt’s judgment and discuss how inconsolable psychological trauma is viewed by our legal system today. Gideon Haigh is a well know Australian author and journalist, who has written several books on a wide variety of subjects.  Associate Professor Kylie Burns is a national recognised torts and personal injury researcher and educator. She is a co-author of the leading text Torts: Cases and Commentary. This lecture is brought to you by the Australian Academy of Law (academyoflaw.org.au/) and the Selden Society (Australia) (legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/selden-society).       Support the show