About
Duncan
About
Duncan
My Story
DUNCAN GRAHAM
From a young age, Duncan wanted to write, but like many before him, has struggled to find the time or the impetus outside of family and work commitments.
His original plan was to do a Bachelor of Arts so he could fashion a career in writing. He was completely committed to that course until his wise history teacher advised him that studying medicine would lead to a great career but that to pursue law meant an even greater one. Not knowing what to do, Duncan decided to do both. Now, after a medicolegal career, he has returned to what he wanted to do in the first place.
More detail
Duncan was born in Townsville, Queensland, but grew up in Brisbane. He attended Kenmore State School and Brisbane Grammar School.
Duncan completed a medical degree at the University of Queensland in 1985, and then spent three years commencing and then abandoning further study to become a dermatologist, surgeon, psychiatrist and radiologist. In the meantime, he left Queensland and moved to Hobart in Tasmania. It was while poring over the finer points of radiation physics in a basement apartment in Battery Point as part of his radiology studies that Duncan thought he saw the light. He had not forgotten what his old history teacher had said and enrolled in a law degree at the University of Tasmania. He spent the better part of the 1980s studying.
Throughout his working life, Duncan has continued to write when he has found some uninterrupted time. Upon graduating from medicine, his mother-in-law gave him the sage advice to write as a hobby while doing something worthwhile like neurology. He has tried to follow that advice, to date having written a series of original crime novels about a hard-drinking, chain smoking, foul-mouthed, perpetually fornicating and perspicacious detective, a best-selling whodunnit about the death of a mountain guide in the Western Arthurs of Tasmania, and a witty and surprisingly engaging serial in the manner of Dickens describing the antics of an erudite and loveable book group of aging, white, middle class men. But as much as he would like to believe he has written these and other classics, Duncan hasn’t. If he has any sense, he won’t even try. What he has written, however, are many poems, several short stories, a comedy script, two (unpublished) novels and the first few chapters of at least five other novels. There will be more.
In 1991, Duncan and his family moved to Melbourne where he commenced work at Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (now Allens> <Linklaters) in the securities, mergers and acquisitions department. He was no sooner there, than he wanted to leave to become a merchant banker. He obtained a certificate in financial markets from the Securities Institute of Australia to assist. He then decided litigation was a better choice and transferred to the firm’s litigation department. There, Duncan worked on cases for former asbestos products manufacturer, James Hardie Industries Limited, and other product liability cases, including those for tobacco manufacturers.
In 1993, Duncan again got itchy feet and decided to become a barrister in Victoria. At the Victorian Bar, Duncan was briefed in medical negligence cases and continued to be involved in James Hardie’s asbestos litigation. By that time, NSW had established a specialist tribunal to hear and determine dust disease cases, including asbestos cases. Duncan was told that that was where the action was. In 1995, he moved to Sydney to join the NSW Bar so that he could do more asbestos litigation. His family was not necessarily delighted with the move. And after a year, Duncan wasn’t either. He joined Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens> <Linklaters) in 1996 to work in their litigation department.
In 1996, Duncan became a founding Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine. He also joined the Medico-Legal Society of NSW.
At the end of 1997, after the birth of his fourth child, Duncan thought it was a good idea to return to the life of a barrister. He rejoined the NSW Bar. He again acted for James Hardie and other companies such as BHP and CRA in dust diseases litigation, but his practice became increasingly focused on medical negligence and medical law, so that by 2000, he was essentially working full-time in that area, appearing mainly for plaintiffs in civil litigation or for families in coronial inquests into deaths following medical treatment.
It was through his medical negligence work that Duncan was introduced to medical device and pharmaceutical class actions. He has been involved in a number of product liability class actions, and recently appeared in two long hearings in the Federal Court – the De Puy metal hip class action and the Ethicon vaginal mesh class action.
Duncan has changed careers, changed jobs, moved up and down the east coast of Australia, and still not found a job he really wants to do. He often feels like Richard Mahony, from Henry Handel Richardson’s famous novel. Through his work, Duncan has experienced many interesting, tragic, funny and uplifting situations and people. He considers himself fortunate to have had the experiences although life may have been simpler if he had stuck at writing in the first place. Now that his four children have left school, he feels he can devote time to his first passion. His ambition is to share some of his experiences. He is in a unique position to describe medicolegal cases from the perspective of a doctor and lawyer.
His first book Why Patients Sue Doctors was co-authored with David Richards and the late Bernard Kelly, both doctors and expert witnesses he has met during his work in medical litigation. He is grateful for the enthusiasm they provided in finally completing a writing project. The book describes and analyses real-life medicolegal cases so as to explore how doctors can learn from their mistakes. The book is of interest to those concerned about the quality of health care and how to improve it. It is also of general interest to people wanting to read about real-life medical dramas….buy book
Duncan has also just published a fictional account of the asbestos industry titled Where the Dust Settles, a gripping battle for justice – and life – against Big Asbestos in Australia. Through his work in asbestos litigation, Duncan has acquired an exhaustive knowledge of the scientific literature about asbestos-related diseases. He has cross-examined, examined and interviewed many of the leading experts in the world on the subject. He also has been involved in a number of test cases about dust diseases. Although his novel will draw on his experience in this litigation and some actual events, it will largely be a matter of invention….buy book
Duncan’s love of writing was instilled by his late father, a compulsive but unsuccessful editor of Duncan’s school essays. A self-confessed binge reader, Duncan’s writing has been influenced by many authors, but in particular, Saul Bellow, Evelyn Waugh, Patrick White, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Iris Murdoch, Christina Stead, William Boyd, Peter De Vries, Kingsley Amis and Martin Amis.
He lives in Sydney with his wife.
From a young age, Duncan wanted to write, but like many before him, has struggled to find the time or the impetus outside of family and work commitments.
His original plan was to do a Bachelor of Arts so he could fashion a career in writing. He was completely committed to that course until his wise history teacher advised him that studying medicine would lead to a great career but that to pursue law meant an even greater one. Not knowing what to do, Duncan decided to do both. Now, after a medicolegal career, he has returned to what he wanted to do in the first place.
More detail
Duncan was born in Townsville, Queensland, but grew up in Brisbane. He attended Kenmore State School and Brisbane Grammar School.
Duncan completed a medical degree at the University of Queensland in 1985, and then spent three years commencing and then abandoning further study to become a dermatologist, surgeon, psychiatrist and radiologist. In the meantime, he left Queensland and moved to Hobart in Tasmania. It was while poring over the finer points of radiation physics in a basement apartment in Battery Point as part of his radiology studies that Duncan thought he saw the light. He had not forgotten what his old history teacher had said and enrolled in a law degree at the University of Tasmania. He spent the better part of the 1980s studying.
Throughout his working life, Duncan has continued to write when he has found some uninterrupted time. Upon graduating from medicine, his mother-in-law gave him the sage advice to write as a hobby while doing something worthwhile like neurology. He has tried to follow that advice, to date having written a series of original crime novels about a hard-drinking, chain smoking, foul-mouthed, perpetually fornicating and perspicacious detective, a best-selling whodunnit about the death of a mountain guide in the Western Arthurs of Tasmania, and a witty and surprisingly engaging serial in the manner of Dickens describing the antics of an erudite and loveable book group of aging, white, middle class men. But as much as he would like to believe he has written these and other classics, Duncan hasn’t. If he has any sense, he won’t even try. What he has written, however, are many poems, several short stories, a comedy script, two (unpublished) novels and the first few chapters of at least five other novels. There will be more.
In 1991, Duncan and his family moved to Melbourne where he commenced work at Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (now Allens> <Linklaters) in the securities, mergers and acquisitions department. He was no sooner there, than he wanted to leave to become a merchant banker. He obtained a certificate in financial markets from the Securities Institute of Australia to assist. He then decided litigation was a better choice and transferred to the firm’s litigation department. There, Duncan worked on cases for former asbestos products manufacturer, James Hardie Industries Limited, and other product liability cases, including those for tobacco manufacturers.
In 1993, Duncan again got itchy feet and decided to become a barrister in Victoria. At the Victorian Bar, Duncan was briefed in medical negligence cases and continued to be involved in James Hardie’s asbestos litigation. By that time, NSW had established a specialist tribunal to hear and determine dust disease cases, including asbestos cases. Duncan was told that that was where the action was. In 1995, he moved to Sydney to join the NSW Bar so that he could do more asbestos litigation. His family was not necessarily delighted with the move. And after a year, Duncan wasn’t either. He joined Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens> <Linklaters) in 1996 to work in their litigation department.
In 1996, Duncan became a founding Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine. He also joined the Medico-Legal Society of NSW.
At the end of 1997, after the birth of his fourth child, Duncan thought it was a good idea to return to the life of a barrister. He rejoined the NSW Bar. He again acted for James Hardie and other companies such as BHP and CRA in dust diseases litigation, but his practice became increasingly focused on medical negligence and medical law, so that by 2000, he was essentially working full-time in that area, appearing mainly for plaintiffs in civil litigation or for families in coronial inquests into deaths following medical treatment.
It was through his medical negligence work that Duncan was introduced to medical device and pharmaceutical class actions. He has been involved in a number of product liability class actions, and recently appeared in two long hearings in the Federal Court – the De Puy metal hip class action and the Ethicon vaginal mesh class action.
Duncan has changed careers, changed jobs, moved up and down the east coast of Australia, and still not found a job he really wants to do. He often feels like Richard Mahony, from Henry Handel Richardson’s famous novel. Through his work, Duncan has experienced many interesting, tragic, funny and uplifting situations and people. He considers himself fortunate to have had the experiences although life may have been simpler if he had stuck at writing in the first place. Now that his four children have left school, he feels he can devote time to his first passion. His ambition is to share some of his experiences. He is in a unique position to describe medicolegal cases from the perspective of a doctor and lawyer.
His first book Why Patients Sue Doctors was co-authored with David Richards and the late Bernard Kelly, both doctors and expert witnesses he has met during his work in medical litigation. He is grateful for the enthusiasm they provided in finally completing a writing project. The book describes and analyses real-life medicolegal cases so as to explore how doctors can learn from their mistakes. The book is of interest to those concerned about the quality of health care and how to improve it. It is also of general interest to people wanting to read about real-life medical dramas.
Duncan will also soon publish a fictional account of the asbestos industry. Through his work in asbestos litigation, Duncan has acquired an exhaustive knowledge of the scientific literature about asbestos-related diseases. He has cross-examined, examined and interviewed many of the leading experts in the world on the subject. He also has been involved in a number of test cases about dust diseases. Although his novel will draw on his experience in this litigation and some actual events, it will largely be a matter of invention. He will be publishing the novel early in 2025 with Broadcast Books.
Duncan’s love of writing was instilled by his late father, a compulsive but unsuccessful editor of Duncan’s school essays. A self-confessed binge reader, Duncan’s writing has been influenced by many authors, but in particular, Saul Bellow, Evelyn Waugh, Patrick White, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Iris Murdoch, Christina Stead, William Boyd, Peter De Vries, Kingsley Amis and Martin Amis.
He lives in Sydney with his wife.
People were standing up everywhere, shouting, “This is me! This is me!” Every time you looked at them they stood up and told you who they were, and the truth of it was that they had no more idea of who or what they were than he had. They believed their flashing signs too. They ought to be standing up and shouting, “This isn’t me! This isn’t me!” They would if they had any decency. “This isn’t me!” Then you might know how to proceed through the flashing bullshit of this world.