High Court unanimously finds for WorkCover in unusual vicarious liability case
A significant outcome for employers in High Court case examining vicarious liability.
2 August 2023
A significant outcome for employers in High Court case examining vicarious liability.
It has often been assumed that a claimant with an injury resulting in a degree of permanent impairment of 20% or more was entitled to recover counsel’s fees on settlement of a claim, pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014. However, the Queensland Supreme Court has now definitively held that there is no such entitlement.
In Giles v State of Queensland [2021] QCA 206, the Queensland Court of Appeal confirmed the District Court’s decision that the State was not negligent in its management and welfare checking of an injured worker during his attendance at a catastrophic fire.
The Court of Appeal has increased the damages awarded to a truck driver who sustained a lower back injury at work to $967,000, highlighting that courts will be cautious in applying discounts to account for pre-existing medical conditions.
In Walker v Greenmountain Food Processing Pty Ltd [2020] QSC 329, the Supreme Court of Queensland found in favour of an injured worker who climbed onto a roof to inspect a boiler failure, at nightfall after drinking alcohol. He was awarded over $960,000 and his damages were not reduced for contributory negligence.
The team has been listed as a first tier Workers Compensation & WorkCover Law firm. First tier is the highest category achievable
Manual handling injuries make up the largest cohort of workers’ compensation claims for serious injuries. They are also usually very difficult to defend because most employers do not keep good records about the training and supervision of safe manual handling practices.
In Scone Race Club Ltd v Cottom [2019] NSWCA 260, the New South Wales Court of Appeal has found that the Scone Race Club was not liable for an injury sustained by an employee while emptying a bin on race day.
Often in slip and fall cases, claimants allege they must have slipped on a spillage, relying on nothing more than the fact they have slipped.
In Davies v Whitehaven Coal Mining Ltd [2019] NSW SC 1125, a mining company successfully defended a high quantum slip and fall claim by an underground miner.
In Deanne King v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2019] QIRC 134, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) allowed a worker to lead ‘similar fact evidence’ in support of an appeal.
In Rhodin v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd [2019] ACTSC 207, the ACT Supreme Court delivered a substantial verdict against Coles in favour of a delicatessen attendant following a slip and fall on ice in a seafood cool room.