A $3.75 million jury verdict for a Sydney man paralysed in a swimming accident on Bondi Beach nearly eight years ago was upheld by the High Court last week. But don’t expect to see many more payouts like that.

Guy Swain was left a paraplegic when he dived into a sandbank in 1997, and his claim was filed before tort reforms came into effect in 2002.

His High Court victory follows major criticism of recent tort reform such as the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002, which many believe restricts access to the justice system for future catastrophically injured people.

But lawyer Michael Down, who led the Phillips Fox team representing Waverley City Council on the case, says the judgement itself means nothing in terms of precedent for tort reform. The proceedings were purely about the legalities of the council’s earlier victory in the NSW Court of Appeal.

Reforms to the law of negligence after Mr Swain’s case was filed “puts the onus on individuals to take responsibility for their own actions”, Mr Down said.

The number of claims taken to the NSW District Court in the year after the Act started operating is one indication of how effective the reforms have been. Even though the court says it’s too early to determine if the reduction in registrations was solely caused by the legislation, lawyers see the drop in matters registered from 20,784 in 2001 to 7912 in 2003 as very significant.

Samantha Kelly, a Phillips Fox senior associate who was also involved in the council’s case, says the number of reforms that have already been put into place make it “much more difficult for people to obtain compensation”.