Bruce acts for statutory authorities, insurers and corporations across accident compensation, toxic tort and dust diseases, public liability and product liability, with specialist advisory on statutory compensation schemes and reform.

Biography

Bruce acts for statutory authorities, insurers and corporations on defendant insurance litigation across accident compensation, toxic tort, dust diseases, public liability and product liability. His standing engagements include WorkSafe Victoria and other major scheme participants, as well as government departments and self-insured corporations.

His practice covers defendant insurance litigation across the full range of personal injury claim types, including accident compensation, toxic tort and dust disease claims, public liability and product liability proceedings. He also advises on scheme reform and regulatory issues, having acted on CTP scheme reform and on the settlement distribution schemes arising from the Black Saturday bushfire class actions.

His work includes complex and sensitive statutory and common law compensation claims arising from dust disease and toxic tort exposures, prescribed burn damages litigation, and major class action settlement administration. The Black Saturday bushfire settlement distribution work involved schemes totalling more than $500 million, requiring careful regulatory navigation alongside claims management across a large and varied claimant pool.

Bruce combines a contentious practice with specialist scheme advisory capability that is uncommon in the defendant insurance market. His experience running litigation through the Court of Appeal sits alongside direct involvement in CTP scheme reform and major class action settlement distribution, giving him a policy and regulatory dimension that most litigation practitioners at his level do not hold.

Credentials

Academic qualifications:

Bruce's experience

Defending complex compensation claims

Acting on behalf of WorkSafe Victoria and other self-insurers in defending complex and sensitive statutory and common law compensation claims arising from personal injury and death.

Prescribed burn damages

Acting on behalf of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in defending litigated claims for property damage and business loss arising from prescribed burns.

Black Saturday Bushfire class actions

Advising on the settlement distribution schemes totalling more than $500 million, and related regulatory issues, arising from the Black Saturday Bushfire Class Actions.

CTP scheme reform

Acting on behalf of the South Australian Crown Solicitor’s Office on the review and reform of its Compulsory Third Party Insurance Scheme.

Awards, recognition and ranking