Catherine Henry

Catherine is a well-known and highly respected medical and aged care lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience in this specialist field of law.

She has successfully handled thousands of claims against health and aged care facilities and medical providers and has worked on some of Australia’s highest profile cases during her lengthy career as a medical and health lawyer.

Her expertise includes:

• medical negligence
• allied health care negligence
• disciplinary complaints and litigation acting for health professionals
• legal aspects of women’s health & reproductive medicine
• aged care regulation and litigation
• assisting chronically ill aged care residents
• mental health advocacy, policy and litigation against mental health facilities
• conduct of inquests

Catherine ran the health litigation practice at Sydney firm Craddock Murray & Neumann where she was a partner and then established a successful Newcastle branch office of that firm upon her relocation to her hometown of Newcastle in 2002.  She later merged that part of the firm with Hunter based personal injury firm, King Street Lawyers where she was co-owner. In 2009, Catherine took over the practice and created Catherine Henry Lawyers.

In conjunction with her experience in common law – negligence litigation against health providers, Catherine has significant experience in the health complaints and regulatory area. Before she entered private practice, she worked as a senior solicitor at the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission investigating and prosecuting disciplinary complaints against medical practitioners. Her health disciplinary experience includes having been Legal Member in matters before the Pharmacy Board and the Mental Health Review Tribunal and her firm conducts numbers of matters for allied health professionals – pharmacists, psychologists, nurses amongst others to this day.

Community

Catherine is in demand as a media commentator on legal issues and is regularly approached for interviews on local and regional radio on issues involving health law and on aged care reform.  She regularly presents to lawyers and groups on health and medical law, and elder law. She has lectured in the undergraduate law course at the University of Newcastle.

Throughout her career, Catherine has been an active campaigner for people injured as a result of medical error as well as for issues that impact on the health of vulnerable individuals – most significantly aged care reform and also in the past on abortion reform.

She regularly undertakes pro bono legal work – both for individuals and community groups and has been involved in several important community campaigns. She was actively involved whilst Newcastle Law Society President in the campaign for a redeveloped justice precinct in Newcastle and acted for the Northern Parks & Playgrounds in the Land & Environment Court in the battle to save the Laman Street fig trees.
Catherine has served on numerous community boards and committees – both in Sydney and in Newcastle

• • Founding Member of the Australian Lawyers Plaintiff Lawyers Association (now Australian Lawyers Alliance) (Inaugural NSW Branch President) (1995-1999)
  • Board Member, Legal Aid Commission (1999- 2001) (representative of the NSW Attorney-General)
  • Women Lawyers Association of NSW (Executive Committee Member 1997, 2009 to date) (Convenor, Newcastle Chapter 2009 to date)
  • Newcastle Law Society President 2004-2009
  • University of Newcastle Council (2004-2007)
  • Hunter Women’s Centre (2002-2005)
  • Industry Development Centre (2005-2008)
  • Newcastle City Centre Committee (2006-2009)
  • Newcastle Now (2018)
  • Newcastle Law School Advisory Board (2019 to date)