Common sense prevailing

In the decision of Drew & State of New South Wales [2015] NSWCA 159 handed down in June 2015, judges dismissed a school cleaner’s appeal against a finding that she is not entitled to damages after tripping over a box on a classroom floor.

Mrs Drew sustained a knee injury while working at a school.  She sued both the occupier of the premises, the State of NSW and her employer Menzies.

Before she tripped over, Mrs Drew had walked through the same carpeted classroom on six occasions.  The first few times she actually pushed a heavy box lying on the floor to one side to make a passage.  On the last two times, she carried a mop and bucket.  It was on the last time she tripped on the same box, injuring her knees.

The employer was unaware of the presence of the box in the classroom.  The claim against them was rejected.  Mrs Drew was considered to have not taken reasonable care for her safety as she could and had done on numerous occasions, walked around the box and avoided the accident.

His Honour stated that Mrs Drew had simply failed to walk past an obvious obstacle in the middle of the room, which she had managed to avoid on five prior occasions and had, as a result, not taken appropriate care for her own safety.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and agreed with the primary judge’s reasons for finding against Mrs Drew.

This case confirms that an employer will not usually be found liable for a risk of which it had no knowledge and that an occupier or employer is generally entitled to expect that people entering premises will exercise reasonable care for their own safety, especially when there is an obvious risk of harm.

However, depending on the facts, the outcome may not always be successful as this so don’t become complacent in ensuring the health & safety of those in your workplace.   Also, workers’ compensation is a no blame system so it will still cost you if your workers become injured so you still need to continue to do everything you can do to prevent any accident or injury.  This is not a signal to transfer full responsibility back onto employees.