Queensland woman sues Life Saving Australia: Will this set a bad precedent for other volunteer organisations?

A Queensland woman is suing Life Saving Australia and St Johns Ambulance service for what they describe as assault and negligence. The plaintiff was competing in a surf carnival in Victoria at the time.

I don't usually comment on these sort of cases, however I think this would set such an important and detrimental precedent for volunteer organisations of this nature. Surf Life Saving have a very important role on Australian beaches, and many of the men and women who patrol the beaches do this voluntarily.

For starters, this is a woman who is participating in what is already a risky recreational activity. I have no medical background, but I assume that it is tricky to know the full extent of an injury at the time of the accident. Perhaps her initial injury was much more serious than anyone first thought.

Further, although I studied torts in Queensland (good old Civil Liability Act), it is highly unlikely that this could amount to unlawful assault considering that it is usual for life savers to seek permission from conscious patients (which for a dislocated shoulder, it is likely that the plaintiff was conscious). Unless there is grievous bodily harm (which is a whole other can of worms), permission would preclude an action for assault.

An action for negligence seems similarly fated; how did the life saver fail in their duty of care? What sort of duty of care does a volunteer owe to a patient?

And from a non-legal perspective, was this particular life saver damned if they did and damned if they didn't? Would the plaintiff have preferred to have not been helped?