She was on the front lines during the rollout of the new and untested COVID-19 vaccine injury scheme
Kirstie Watts, associate at Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers, has carved out her niche as a young industry leader, now reflecting on her formative experiences while working in the firm’s vaccine injury team, helping navigate a then-unchartered area of law.
During the period following the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers began receiving enquiries from people who had suffered significant effects as a result of the administration of these vaccines.
After some time, the COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Scheme, created by the Federal Government and supported by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, aimed to compensate people who suffered injuries that were recognised by the vaccine product manufacturers.
Kirstie, along with some of her colleagues, volunteered to embark on what she knew would be a challenging, yet highly rewarding, journey into the continuously developing area of law.
We sat down with Kirstie to find out about her experiences, while getting to know more about the woman herself and her advice to other budding lawyers.
At the scheme’s inception, we were starting from scratch, assessing the operation of the scheme and the challenges we needed to overcome. It was a learning process, but I had the support of senior colleagues, and we were all learning together.
Murphy’s Law was unique in that we didn’t focus on the risk of taking on vaccine injury cases. In accident law, we usually consider the risks involved, but with the vaccine claims, we accepted everyone who met the eligibility criteria, regardless of the outcome. To me, this was quite unique for an accident law firm, something we did in the interests of helping these people.
I was on the front line, taking calls related to this new and untested scheme. There were only certain medical conditions that were accepted by the product disclosure statements as being vaccine-related. Through medical research, we learned how conditions were commonly diagnosed so that we could ensure that all necessary testing had been undertaken and a diagnosis was made in accordance with the scheme requirements.
Through coordinated collaboration we ‘grew’ a sophisticated internal assessment and evidence gathering framework. Because of this groundwork, Murphy’s Law was able to present the best possible cases to maximise our clients’ claims and submit them before the end of the scheme’s deadline.
The hardest part was adapting to the constantly changing policy. We would advise clients one way, and then the policy would change, requiring us to shift our approach. While it was difficult to navigate at first, things settled as the policy changes became less frequent.
We constantly had to check the scheme to see if it (or any of its forms) had changed, as this would occur without notice or any detailed advice on the changes. We would have to manually compare scheme versions to check on updates to particular wording. On top of this, the rollout of the Scheme was undertaken quite quickly.
One of the most rewarding aspects was seeing the progression of clients over the claims period. Some clients we worked with for about two years, and witnessing their journey from being severely impacted to regaining some form of daily living was gratifying. The person we met at the beginning of the process wasn’t the same person we finished with.
Being part of the vaccine claim scheme allowed me to help people who had been severely impacted, not just physically, but in a way that affected their entire lives. Building connections with these clients and being both a support system and their legal advisor was important to us.
Tell us a little bit about your background and why you chose this area of law.
I grew up in New South Wales, and we moved around quite a lot, so I got to see a lot of new places and experience new things. Especially being the youngest of five, I had the chance to observe what my older siblings were doing with their lives. My eldest sister is 15 years older than me! So growing up, I had the benefit of watching and learning from their experiences, which gave me an understanding of where I wanted to go and how I could also be successful.
What I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to help people through challenging times. Beyond securing fair compensation, I take pride in providing guidance and reassurance to clients who feel overwhelmed by the legal process. Seeing their relief and knowing I’ve made a real impact is what drives me, I like being a strong advocate for my clients, communicating clearly, and building trust so they feel supported every step of the way.
My advice to young lawyers entering the profession would be to give it a go and really appreciate who you’re working with. Take full advantage of the experience and knowledge of the senior solicitors working around you. There are always opportunities to have meaningful conversations and seek advice from them.
