Sarah Yau

Sarah specialises in the defence of liability claims including complex public and products liability, product recall and catastrophic injury and property damage claims.

She acts for national and international insurers, insureds and large corporates across a range of industries including construction and mining, manufacturing, professional services, transport, real estate and pharmaceuticals.

Sarah has extensive experience providing coverage advice and defending complex and sensitive liability and contractual claims. She has a strong track record in successfully enforcing contractual indemnities and insurance clauses across numerous matters for insurers and insureds, and in resisting claims for dual insurance and contractual claims based on indemnity and insurance clauses.

Her products experience includes advising an international manufacturer on the Australian aspects of a world-wide recall of industrial equipment and working with the ACCC and other regulatory bodies to execute the recall. She has provided coverage advice for the recall of medicines that failed to comply with Good Manufacturing Practices.  She has defended multi-million dollar and multi-party claims for silicosis, scleroderma, and psychiatric injury against a power plant operator, and claims against manufacturers and occupiers in the use of engineered stone products. She is also experienced in defending multiple high value claims against the manufacturer and supplier of allegedly defective mining equipment.

Sarah has pursued subrogated recovery actions on behalf of insurers for economic loss and property damage under marine craft, home and contents, pharmaceutical, and motor vehicle policies. Her property liability experience includes defending economic loss claims for vibration damage allegedly resulting from construction work, the alleged negligent installation of farming equipment, and fire damage claims to commercial premises from allegedly defective office equipment.