Cagney v D&J Building Contractors Pty Ltd
[2024] QDC 162 · Horneman-Wren SC, DCJ
A self-employed carpenter with nearly 40 years' experience was injured when he fell from an unsuitable ladder while cutting roof sheets on a building site one Easter Saturday. He had agreed to do a day's 'cashie' (cash-paid work) for a building contractor. He suffered serious fractures to his right tibia, fibula and ankle, requiring surgery and an ankle fusion, leaving him with permanent walking difficulties. To recover damages under the workers' compensation common-law scheme, he had to prove he was a 'worker', essentially an employee. The court found he was not: the arrangement was a one-day cash job he had taken in his own business as a sub-contractor, with no employment relationship intended. The court also rejected an argument that the contractor was bound by WorkCover's earlier acceptance of his compensation claim. Although the judge found the contractor's negligence over the unsafe ladder would have made it liable, and would have assessed damages of roughly $475,000, the claim was dismissed because the plaintiff was not a worker.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff fell from an inappropriate A-frame ladder (not capable of extension) while cutting roof sheets on a building site; the ladder went sideways and he fell to the ground.
Read the findings as text
- Worker under s 11(1) Threshold question.
- Not a worker. Contract for services.
- $0 recovered, costs. Affirmed [2025] QCA 116.
- Body regions
- Ankle / foot, Right ankle (Right)
- Diagnoses
- Closed displaced fractures of distal right tibia and fibula, Right ankle arthrodesis (fusion), 1cm leg length discrepancy
- Incident date
- 31 March 2018
- Location
- Eastern Heights, Ipswich (building site, 10 Idolwood St)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 26 September 2024
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- Occupation
- Self-employed trade qualified carpenter Technician / Trade Worker
- Liability
- Disputed
- ISV assessed
- 18 · Item 141 (serious ankle injury), WCRR Sch 9
- Whole Person Impairment
- 13%
- Total damages
- $0
Outcome
The claim was dismissed because the court found the plaintiff was not a 'worker' under s 11(1) of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act, he was engaged under a contract for services as an independent sub-contractor, not an employee. The defendant was not estopped from denying worker status despite WorkCover having accepted the statutory compensation claim. The court found negligence would have been established and assessed damages on a contingent basis had the plaintiff been a worker.
Defendant
1 D&J Building Contractors Pty Ltd
Putative employer / building contractor
- Judgment against this defendant
- $0
Heads of damage
| General damages | $31,060 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $245,953 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $150,000 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $58,108 |
| Interest on past special damages | $588 |
| Future special damages | $8,984 |
| Fox v Wood | $31,370 |
Key issues
Cagney v D&J Building Contractors Pty Ltd [2024] QDC 162
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Learn more about WorkCover common law claims in Queensland.