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Labourer Awarded $752,487 After Falling Through Uncovered Skylight
🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Labourer Awarded $752,487 After Falling Through Uncovered Skylight

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Documents & data Outcome reported
  • An ACT Supreme Court judge awarded a labourer $752,487 after he fell through an uncovered skylight at the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2023.
  • The court found his former employer had shown obvious negligence and a casual attitude to workplace safety, while the company’s insurer fund defended the claim because the firm had entered liquidation.
  • The award includes compensation for past and future lost earnings after injuries limited the worker’s ability to perform heavy work.

A labourer who fell through a skylight at the Australian Defence Force Academy has been awarded $752,487 after a judge found his former employer’s safety failures were obvious.

Acting Justice Michael Elkaim ruled that ACT Height Safety Pty Ltd should have covered the skylight at the Canberra construction site. The company is now in liquidation, so the ACT Workers’ Compensation Default Insurance Fund defended the claim and must pay the damages.

obvious

— Acting Justice Michael ElkaimThe judge described the scaffolding company’s negligence in failing to cover the skylight.

The worker, who was in his 20s, fell about 1.2 metres onto a laundry building roof while working on scaffolding upgrades in Campbell in August 2023. His back struck a washing machine, and he suffered a hand injury while trying to stop the fall. Medical evidence linked the accident to injuries to his lower back and shoulder and a significant aggravation of his thoracic spine.

I think it clear that even with successful shoulder surgery, the plaintiff’s capacity to do heavy physical work, like scaffolding, is severely limited

— Acting Justice Michael ElkaimThe judgment assessed the long-term effect of the worker’s injuries.

Justice Elkaim said the injuries severely limited the man’s ability to return to heavy physical work such as scaffolding, even if shoulder surgery succeeded. The worker also described relying on strong pain medication, including oxycodone, and experiencing periods of depression. The accident affected both his work prospects and his passion for boxing.

The employer argued that the man’s injuries existed before the accident and said the incident had not occurred, claiming he had suffered only a “minor scratch”. The judge called parts of the defence “simply unbelievable”. He also criticised the company’s response when asked why the skylights lacked protection. A representative replied, “That’s not my job, mate. I’m just there to build scaffolds.”

simply unbelievable

— Acting Justice Michael ElkaimThe judge criticised parts of the employer’s defence.

The court found the worker partly negligent for failing to take more care where he stepped, but said his responsibility was far smaller than the employer’s. The award includes $127,500 for past earnings losses and $342,619 for future economic losses.

That’s not my job, mate. I’m just there to build scaffolds.

— Employer representativeThe response was given when the court asked why the skylights had no protective coverings.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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