Germanotta v CRG Harvesting Pty Ltd
[2025] QSC 329 · North J
Carlo Germanotta worked on a North Queensland sugar cane harvesting operation. In August 2018 he was crushed when a tractor he was repairing fell off a jack after a co-worker climbed into the cabin. He suffered very serious injuries including a burst fracture of his lower spine, spinal cord bruising, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung, bowel and bladder problems, and psychiatric injury. Liability was admitted. The main dispute was whether he was an 'employee' of the family-controlled harvesting company so that WorkCover had to indemnify the company. WorkCover argued he was really a director or partner, not a worker. However, the judge found he was a genuine employee - he was paid weekly wages with tax and superannuation, and his intellectual limitations meant he could not have acted as a company director. The court awarded about $1.3 million in damages and ordered WorkCover to indemnify the company.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff was working underneath a tractor effecting repairs when a co-worker (Mr Sheedy) climbed into the tractor cabin, causing the tractor to fall off a jack and safety stand, crushing the plaintiff
Read the findings as text
- Liability admitted. Indemnity was the dispute.
- He was a worker. Wages, tax and super paid.
- $1,299,113 awarded. Affirmed [2026] QCA 124.
- Body regions
- Lumbar / thoracic spine, Lumbar spine, Thoracic spine, Cervical spine, Chest/ribs, Left clavicle, Spinal cord, Bowel, Urinary system, Sexual function, Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Burst fracture of L1 with 6mm retropulsed fragment into spinal canal, Spinal cord contusion from T12 to L1, Medial fracture of left clavicle, Vertebral body fracture of T3, Vertebral body fracture of T12, Fracture of the manubrium sterni, Multiple bilateral rib fractures, Collapsed right lung, musculoligamentous cervical spine injury, Significant dysmotility of the large bowel (slow transit constipation), Urinary incontinence, Erectile dysfunction, Adjustment Disorder with depression and anxiety, Aggravation of mixed anxiety and depression, Relapse of PTSD
- Incident date
- 15 August 2018
- Location
- Sugar cane farm near Mackay, North Queensland
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 1 October 2025
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 45
- Occupation
- Sugar cane harvester / haul-out operator and machinery operator Machinery Operator / Driver
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 48 uplift applied · Item 89, Extreme Thoracic or Lumbar Spinal Injury (WCRR Schedule 9)
- Whole Person Impairment
- 36%
- Total damages
- $1,299,113 90th percentile · WCRA Common Law matters (n=29)
Outcome
Judgment was entered for the plaintiff against CRG Harvesting for $1,299,113.33. The court found the plaintiff was a 'worker' under the WCRA, rejecting WorkCover's contentions that he was a director or working for a partnership, and ordered WorkCover (the third party) to indemnify the employer for the judgment sum and costs.
Defendant
1 CRG Harvesting Pty Ltd
Employer
- Apportionment
- 100%
- Judgment against this defendant
- $1,299,113
- WorkCover refund
- $554,004
Heads of damage
| General damages | $129,920 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $467,000 |
| Interest on past EL | $24,722 |
| Past superannuation | $38,663 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $660,450 |
| Future superannuation | $62,271 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $95,857 |
| Past special damages (WorkCover) | $249,342 |
| Interest on past special damages | $14,597 |
| Future special damages | $84,552 |
| Fox v Wood | $25,743 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $1,853,117 |
Key issues
Germanotta v CRG Harvesting Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 329
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