Ruth Slater

Ruth has practiced almost exclusively in defendant-based insurance litigation since 1992. She is renowned as being one of Perth’s best defendant personal injury litigators, particularly when it comes to workers compensation, public liability and motor vehicle claims (compulsory third party).

Over the years Ruth has acted for many significant insurers as well as corporations and government agencies in litigated and non-litigated claims.  She has a strong background in self-insurance, acting for high profile brands across a wide range of industries including mining, manufacturing, logistics, financial services, retail and health.

Ruth’s skills in providing timely and accurate assessment of the commercial risks of a claim are second to none. These skills give her a competitive edge in coming to early resolutions and therefore minimising cost for the client. 

Since the commencement of her legal career, Ruth has personally attended literally thousands of pre-trial and informal settlement conferences. She has a proven ability to negotiate and agree an appropriate outcome without trial, in over 99% of matters.

Ruth is highly skilled at handling complex litigation (high cost, multiple parties, commercial sensitivities) efficiently, and without fuss. Equally, she is expert at dealing with high volume litigation. Her initial approach is to triage a claim in order to identify the nature of the injury, liability and recovery issues, and/ or any other unusual aspects to the claim or injury. She advocates on behalf of her clients in relation to both liability and quantum, and in addition to recovery and apportionment.

Due to Ruth’s experience and reputation, she has fostered amicable relationships with plaintiff lawyers; this strengthens her ability to negotiate informal settlements and quickly resolve claims.

Ruth deals with personal injury cases ranging from minor physical claims to catastrophic injury and death.  She has experience with claims involving   amputation, incomplete tetraplegia, dental injury, brain damage, loss of an eye, acoustic shock, electrocution and psychiatric injury such as PTSD, adjustment disorder and even functional conversional neurological disorder.

Ruth frequently handles fraudulent claims and is experienced in understanding the appropriate medical specialists and allied health professionals required to manage any type of personal injury claim.

Her experience also extends to property damage claims, ranging from small household matters through to damage sustained at multi-million-dollar commercial ventures.

Ruth highly values client relationships and the importance of understanding a client’s business and its priorities. This approach ensures a solution that works both now and into the future. Focusing on the bigger picture, Ruth considers systemic issues and processes to improve the way the business operates – an approach that has seen her maintain clients over two decades.

Ruth holds a Bachelor of Laws (1989), Bachelor of Arts (1992) and a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (1988) from the University of Western Australia. She is a member of the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA) and an AILA Committee member for the WA branch.