Healy v Logan City Council
[2020] QDC 54 · Sheridan DCJ
Michelle Healy worked as a casual cleaner for Logan City Council at an indoor sports centre. In June 2013 she fell while cleaning a grandstand and injured her left shoulder, suffering a rotator cuff strain. She sued the Council, arguing it failed to provide safe training, adequate supervision, rubbish bins in the grandstand, and a proper risk assessment. The Council disputed liability and said Healy had been told not to stand on the slippery seats. The judge preferred the Council's witnesses over Healy, finding her prone to exaggeration, and accepted that she had been instructed not to stand on the seats and was adequately supervised.
The court held the Council had taken all reasonable precautions and dismissed the claim. Had liability been found, the judge would have assessed damages at about $49,000 net, but noted much of Healy's leaving work was due to unrelated health issues and a decision to rest rather than the shoulder injury.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff cleaning a grandstand traversed down the seating, tripped by clipping her toe on the edge of a row of seating, and fell forward, striking her left shoulder on a plastic seat below.
- Body regions
- Shoulder (Left)
- Diagnoses
- Left rotator cuff strain (subscapularis tendon tear)
- Incident date
- 9 June 2013
- Location
- Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre, Logan
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 16 April 2020
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- ~49 (inferred)
- Occupation
- Casual cleaner Labourer
- Liability
- Disputed
- ISV assessed
- 6 · Item 96 (Moderate shoulder injury) / Item 97 contended
- Whole Person Impairment
- 2%
- Total damages
- $0
Outcome
The claim was dismissed. The court found the Council had taken all reasonable precautions, including instructing the plaintiff not to stand on the slippery grandstand seats, and the plaintiff failed to establish a breach of duty. The court assessed damages at a net $49,446.66 on a contingent basis had liability been found, but entered judgment for the defendant.
Defendant
1 Logan City Council
Employer
- Judgment against this defendant
- $0
- WorkCover refund
- $5,713
Heads of damage
| General damages | $7,880 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $15,957 |
| Interest on past EL | $1,903 |
| Past superannuation | $1,516 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $20,000 |
| Future superannuation | $2,200 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $5,666 |
| Interest on past special damages | $38 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $55,160 |
Key issues
Healy v Logan City Council [2020] QDC 54
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