The claimant and her partner were at the caravan park to attend a cultural festival, and planned to stay one night after the event. The event took place about several hundred metres away from park.
Between 5:30pm and 6:00pm, the plaintiff and her husband left their caravan and walked towards the festival. It was still daylight and visibility was good. They each carried a fold-up chair and torch.
They followed other patrons of the park by walking along a well- worn path across a grassed area and through a garden bed under some trees, then stepping up over a concrete mound within the caravan park to access a public footpath that led to the festival. The concrete mound was 30cm high.
When the festival finished, the two walked back to the caravan park, following the same route – after stepping onto and then back down from the concrete mound, the woman lost her balance and fell over.
During the court trial, she gave differing accounts as to the mechanism of her accident. Although the judge found that when walking from the public footpath back into the caravan park, the plaintiff held onto a post and stepped onto the concrete mound before attempting to step down into the garden bed, the court was unable to identify how the plaintiff lost her balance and fell.
The evidence produced at the trial stated that the concrete mound had no defects which caused or contributed to the incident. Although it was less than ideal as a step because it was domed shaped.
At its core, LGIS is all about local governments working together to achieve best outcomes for their organisations, people
and community. LGSAG is one such initiative where we have collaborated with member representatives to ensure they can create a safe and healthy work environment for their workforce when it comes into effect sometime next year.
The Workers’ Compensation & Injury Management Bill 2023, currently before Parliament in Western Australia, will enact major changes to WA’s workers’ compensation scheme
when it comes into effect sometime next year.
The importance of employers following internal policies and procedures and keeping accurate records can’t be emphasised enough when effectively managing a worker’s compensation claim. Our first case explores the need to follow one’s own internal polices in the context of a worker’s compensation work related stress claim.
The matter was taken to court and LGIS’ solicitors were instructed to defend the matter. The Shire gave evidence that there were five other access points that the plaintiff could have utilised to enter or exit the caravan park.
The woman stated she consumed between one and three glasses of wine at the festival. Whilst returning from the event after about four hours, she walked the same route, although utilising a torch because it was dark.
The judge determined that ‘the location and physical presentation of the concrete ridge was obvious to any person taking reasonable care for their own safety’ according to the Civil Liability Act 2002, as the concrete mound was an obvious risk and the Shire was not required to erect warnings about it.
As the claimant had stepped over the concrete mound earlier the same day and was using a torch at the time of the incident, she should have been able to safely navigate the incident location without sustaining an injury.
The Shire gave evidence that it was unaware of any prior incidents at this location; however, the judge determined that the Shire’s record keeping was ‘very loose and undefined’.
She also commented that the Shire’s process for recording incidents at the caravan park was flawed, inconvenient, unclear and unusable, shedding doubt on its accuracy. Whilst this did not affect the outcome of the judgment, the judge was unable to rely on the Shire’s records as evidence regarding previous incidents at the park.
The claimant did not allege that the level of lighting at the park was a contributing factor to the incident, so the judge did not contemplate that issue.
Lessons from this case
Whilst LGIS’ solicitors were successful in defending the Shire in this claim, there are lessons from the judgment to better protect local governments from similar situations.
Each month we take your questions to one of our LGIS team members to answer.
If you want to submit a question for next issue, email us at [email protected]
Welcome to our last edition of Risk Matters for 2023. We always enjoy an opportunity to catch up with members, and in the last quarter of 2023 there’s been plenty.
It’s summer! That time of the year when everyone is ready to celebrate and go on holidays. Tourists all across the country and within Western Australia flock to popular spots to relax and enjoy our beautiful state.
A woman in her 50s lost her balance and fell while stepping up over a concrete mound within a popular caravan park. She fractured her ankle and held one of our regional members liable for the injury and loss suffered, alleged to have been $190k.
LGIS is the unifying name for the dedicated suite of risk financing and management services for WA local governments, established by the WA Local Government Association in conjunction with JLT Public Sector (part of the Marsh group of companies). LGIS is managed by JLT Public Sector (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence 226827).
Risk Matters, via this website, is designed to keep members, their staff and elected members informed on topical risk management and insurance issues and LGIS programs and services.
