Mills v Footprints Community Limited (ABN 15 100 277 492)
[2023] QDC 48 · Kent KC, DCJ
The plaintiff was an in-home support worker who claimed she developed post-traumatic stress disorder after attending an aggressive client in August 2019. Her workers' compensation common-law claim was heading to trial when the employer disclosed seven relevant training documents very late, just before the hearing. This left the plaintiff unable to properly respond in time, so the trial had to be adjourned. The dispute in this judgment was only about who should pay the costs wasted by the adjournment. The employer argued the plaintiff had also been at fault for not updating her loss claim after a separate unrelated bowel illness, so the costs should cancel out. The judge disagreed, finding the employer's late disclosure was an unreasonable delay that caused the adjournment, while the plaintiff's later illness was unrelated to the claim and not significant. The court ordered the employer to pay the plaintiff's costs thrown away by the adjournment.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff, an in-home support worker, attended a client for the first time who behaved aggressively and inappropriately, causing psychiatric injury (PTSD).
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Incident date
- 29 August 2019
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 24 March 2023
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Costs
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Occupation
- in-home support worker Community & Personal Service Worker
Outcome
On an interlocutory costs application following adjournment of a trial, the court found the defendant was in default of its disclosure obligations (late disclosure of seven relevant training documents) which necessitated the adjournment, and that the plaintiff's later unrelated diverticulitis illness did not amount to a counterbalancing unreasonable delay. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs thrown away by the adjournment.
Defendant
1 Footprints Community Limited (ABN 15 100 277 492)
Employer
- Judgment against this defendant
- $0
Key issues
Mills v Footprints Community Limited (ABN 15 100 277 492) [2023] QDC 48
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