Peebles v Work Cover Queensland
[2020] QSC 106 · Jackson J
Daniel Peebles was a truck driver who developed a serious and disabling lower back condition. He drove a truck with a broken driver's seat that would not slide forward and had lost its air suspension, forcing him into an awkward posture over long shifts on rough highways. His back grew worse over 2014, and in December 2014 he suffered a severe disc injury while sneezing. The employer's insurer admitted the seat was defective but argued the back problem came from a pre-existing degenerative condition rather than the faulty seat.
The court preferred the treating and specialist surgeons' evidence over an occupational physician who relied heavily on medical literature and had not examined the plaintiff or the scans. It found the defective seat caused the injury. Because the plaintiff might well have developed a similar back condition later anyway, the judge cut the economic loss awards by half. The court assessed damages of just over $1 million, then deducted the WorkCover refund, and gave judgment for $764,345.12.
Incident & injury
Disc protrusion/herniation from driving a truck with a defective driver's seat over rough roads, causing abnormal posture, loss of seat air suspension and shock loading to the lumbar spine
- Body regions
- Lumbar spine, Psychiatric (Left)
- Diagnoses
- L5-S1 disc protrusion, Left S1 radiculopathy, Mental disorder (secondary)
- Incident date
- 19 May 2014
- Location
- Warrego Highway, Queensland (Rocklea to Wandoan run)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 27 May 2020
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- ~32 (inferred)
- Occupation
- Truck driver Machinery Operator / Driver
- Liability
- Partial
- ISV assessed
- 29 uplift applied · Item 90, Schedule 9 WCRR 2014 (Serious thoracic or lumbar spine injury)
- Whole Person Impairment
- 23%
- Total damages
- $764,345
Outcome
The court found the employer's admitted failure to provide a safe seat caused the plaintiff's disabling lumbar disc condition, rejecting the defendant's causation and pre-existing-condition case. A 50% contingency discount was applied to economic loss for the chance the plaintiff would have developed a similar condition anyway, and judgment was entered for $764,345.12 clear of the Workcover refund.
Defendants (2)
1 Work Cover Queensland
Statutory insurer
- Judgment against this defendant
- $764,345
- WorkCover refund
- $245,415
Heads of damage
| General damages | $56,510 |
|---|---|
| Interest on general damages | $0 |
| Past economic loss | $174,200 |
| Interest on past EL | $6,067 |
| Past superannuation | $16,549 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $486,000 |
| Future superannuation | $57,056 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $146,314 |
| Interest on past special damages | $150 |
| Future special damages | $50,000 |
| Fox v Wood | $16,914 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $1,009,761 |
2 Kurtz Transport Pty Ltd
Employer
Key issues
Peebles v Work Cover Queensland [2020] QSC 106
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