Linda Appelbee

Linda is a senior practitioner with 30 years’ practical experience working in the areas of personal injury, insurance litigation and claims management.

At Paul Alvaro Lawyers, Linda practices in the area of personal injury litigation, including motor vehicle accidents, workers compensation, public liability and medical negligence.

Linda brings to her practice considerable experience from her previous roles in both the public and private sectors, including a role as Clinical Risk Manager at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She has represented insurers and employers as well as individual plaintiffs, and brings specialist insight to claims from both perspectives.

She is passionate about human rights, with a particular focus on children’s interests. Throughout her career, she has conducted specialised claims involving human rights, including children’s negligence actions and aged care negligence actions, as well as been involved in a number of public health inquiries.

Areas of Expertise

Linda has acted for individual plaintiffs in personal injury claims for the last 10 years.

Prior to that, she worked in private practice representing the Motor Accident Commission in motor vehicle accident claims, as well as insurers in public and product liability claims and professional indemnity claims including medical negligence claims. She has also had roles in claims and risk management at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, and within the SA Department of Health.

She has conducted matters in the Magistrates Court, District Court, Supreme Court, Coroners Court, Fair Work Commission, Human Rights Commission and the South Australian Employment Tribunal.

Linda’s wealth of experience enables her to bring invaluable assistance to her clients in understanding the personal injury insurance litigation system and helping them to negotiate the obstacles that face them.

Linda’s empathetic approach drawn from many years of working on both sides of the fence is an invaluable asset which benefits all of her clients. Linda is a tireless advocate for her clients, and her strong sense of social justice drives her to achieve a fair outcome for all those individuals that she represents.

Recognition

Linda was awarded a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide in 1990 and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia in December 1990.

Linda also has a Graduate Diploma in Health Law and a Masters of Law from Flinders University. Her Masters Thesis, which was completed in 2009, involved a study of children’s rights in relation to medical treatment.

Linda was awarded a Law Foundation Scholarship in 2008 to conduct a comparative study of the role of Children’s Commissioners in the United Kingdom, resulting in recommendations for the role of a Children’s Commissioner for South Australia.

Linda is a member of the Law Society of South Australia and the Society’s Children and the Law Committee, and has co-authored many of the Society’s submissions regarding legal issues involving children.

Linda is also a member of the expert ministerial committee under the Transplantation and Anatomy Act (SA). In that role, she is involved in consultation with other committee members in relation to approving consent for donation of regenerative tissue from a child for the purposes of transplantation.