Natalie Orola

Partner | Brisbane, Australia
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Profile

Natalie is a Partner in Kennedys’ Brisbane office specialising in healthcare law. She has more than 15 years’ experience acting for Australian and international insurers in medical defence litigation and professional indemnity claims involving medical practitioners and allied health professionals.

Natalie’s practice encompasses the defence of medical negligence claims, disciplinary proceedings, coronial investigations and inquests, and Medicare inquiries and complaints. She has extensive experience advising medical defence organisations, underwriting agencies, brokers and self-insured healthcare entities on liability, quantum, and intricate coverage issues across healthcare and professional lines.

Natalie regularly manages large-scale, multi-party disputes and is actively involved in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including negotiations, mediations, and pre-court conferences. She has conducted matters in all Queensland courts, and has extensive experience managing claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld).

Prior to joining Kennedys, Natalie held senior claims and practice management roles within Australia’s largest medical defence organisation, gaining critical insight into claims strategy, risk management, and the operational drivers of medical indemnity providers. This experience underpins her pragmatic, commercially attuned approach to defending healthcare professionals and advising insurers on complex indemnity issues.

A regular publisher and speaker, Natalie is recognised by clients and colleagues for her legal and commercial skills. She regularly contributes to a number of leading healthcare law publications including the Australian Health Law Bulletin. Natalie has been named a Finalist in Women Lawyers Association of Queensland’s Emergent Woman Lawyer of the Year award, Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards Young Gun, and Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards Insurance category. She is also a long-term member (and former Treasurer) of The Association for Women in Insurance (Qld).

Qualifications and admissions

Qualifications/ Memberships

  • Bachelor of Law (Honours) | The University of Queensland | 2010
  • Bachelor of Commerce, Finance | The University of Queensland | 2010
  • Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice | The College of Law Australia | 2011
  • Member | Australian Insurance Law Association
  • Member | Medico-Legal Society of Queensland
  • Member | Queensland Law Society
  • Treasurer | Women in Insurance | 2012–2017
  • Management Committee Member | Queensland Young Lawyers | 2013–2017

Admissions

  • Admitted to Queensland, Federal and High Courts | 2011

Work highlights

  • Representing several healthcare professionals on instruction from a national insurer in a complex multi-party personal injury claim seeking over $10 million in damages and over $500,000 in legal costs arising from an alleged failure to diagnose and treat terminal cancer.
  • Representing a national healthcare practice on instruction from a national insurer defending a multi-party personal injury claim seeking in excess of $5 million for catastrophic injuries allegedly sustained by undergoing an unconventional health procedure.
  • Acting for a medical practice on instruction from a national insurer in the defence of a claim against its directors and employees alleging improper and unsafe storage of vaccinations, which allegedly resulted in significant injury to a minor.
  • Representing high-profile government officials and medical professionals in the Barrett Adolescent Centre Commission of Inquiry before the Honourable Margaret Wilson QC.
  • Acting on instruction from Australia’s largest medical defence organisations, representing a wide array of healthcare professionals in regulatory matters arising from patient complaints, impairment matters, and registration issues involving the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Office of the Health Ombudsman.
  • Acting for doctors and medical practices in investigations by Medicare concerning their provision of medical services, including representation of doctors in hearings before the Medicare Professional Services Review Panel.
  • Successfully defending a medical practice on instruction from a national insurer in a constructive dismissal claim from an employee alleging they were unfairly demoted.

Services

Sectors