Star Aged Living Limited v Lee
[2024] QCA 1 · Bowskill CJ, Bond JA, Flanagan JA
The plaintiff worked as an assistant in nursing at an aged care home and said she hurt her back on 19 December 2015 while moving residents without a slide sheet. Her injury was serious — she developed cauda equina syndrome, needed major spinal surgery, and never returned to work. She did not see a lawyer until late 2019, a year after the three-year time limit to sue had run out. She asked the court to extend the time limit, arguing she only later learned key facts about her inability to work and the strength of her claim. The trial judge granted the extension. On appeal, the Court of Appeal found there was no proper basis for that decision: the plaintiff already knew enough before the deadline to bring a worthwhile claim, and the supposedly new facts were either unsupported by evidence or did not change the picture. The appeal was allowed and her application to extend time was dismissed, so her claim cannot now go ahead.
Incident & injury
Back injury sustained while moving residents without a slide sheet during a nursing shift
- Body regions
- Lumbar spine, Psychiatric, Abdominal (incisional hernia)
- Diagnoses
- Discal protrusion at L4/5 causing cauda equina syndrome, Incisional hernia following corrective surgery, Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression
- Incident date
- 19 December 2015
- Location
- Star Gardens Nursing Home (aged care facility)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 25 January 2024
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 30
- Occupation
- Assistant in Nursing at an aged care facility Community & Personal Service Worker
Outcome
The Court of Appeal allowed the employer's appeal, holding that the primary judge erred in finding the plaintiff had established a material fact of a decisive character under s 31(2)(a) of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld). The plaintiff's application to extend the limitation period was dismissed, meaning her underlying workplace injury claim cannot proceed.
Key issues
Star Aged Living Limited v Lee [2024] QCA 1
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