- Olivia Welsh
- Senior Associate
- Auckland
- Litigation | Health & Safety
Olivia specialises in commercial, civil and regulatory litigation with a particular focus on workplace health and safety matters.
She has broad experience in providing health and safety legal compliance advice to businesses and regularly advises clients on ways to address health and safety risks both internally and in relationships with contractors, suppliers, and others. Olivia also assists clients in responding to workplace incidents, including providing guidance and representation during investigations and prosecutions by WorkSafe New Zealand, and coronial inquests.
In addition to her specialist health and safety experience, Olivia has acted on a wide range of civil and commercial litigation matters, including insurance litigation, product liability, estate litigation, breach of contract, negligence cases, and construction disputes.
- Assisted Linfox Logistics (N.Z.) Limited in challenging the charge laid against it by WorkSafe following an incident at an Auckland distribution centre. This was the first appellate case to consider the proper interpretation of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
- Advised multiple clients in developing and agreeing Enforceable Undertakings with WorkSafe as an alternative to prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
- Advised Shoreload & Propping Limited on investigation by WorkSafe and subsequent prosecution following an accident involving the collapse of a temporary shoreloading structure.
- Advised the operator of a major hazard facility about the application of the Health and Safety at Work (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2016 in relation to a proposed restructure and sale of the operator’s business.
- Prepared and provided a nationwide seminar series to a large building supplies company's trade customers on the implications of the Health and Safety at Work Act for those working in the construction industry.
- Assisted a Government agency to identify health and safety issues arising from its operations and reviewed and re-drafted the agency's contracts with third parties to ensure it was properly managing health and safety in its engagement with these parties.
- Advised a group of 24 clients (four children and 20 grandchildren) in a Family Protection Act claim against the estate of the children’s late father.
- Advised DePuy International Limited in responding to a representative action filed against the company by a number of plaintiffs seeking damages as a result of allegedly defective hip implants.
- Assisted a major insurance provider undertake a wholesale review and update of its small business insurance policy offering. This included providing advice to the product delivery team about claims handling implications.
- Assisted a prominent architect to lay a complaint with the New Zealand Law Society against his previous solicitor. The solicitor had begun acting for one of the architect’s development partners against the interests of his former client in a dispute that had arisen between the parties.
- LLM (HONS)(First Class Honours), University of Auckland
- LLB/BA (HONS)(First Class Honours), University of Otago
- 2012
- Affiliate member of the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management
- Accreditation committee member for the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management
- Member of the Auckland Women Lawyers' Association