Court finds safety system shortfall contributed to career-curbing condition
A Queensland council that did not address a loading risk must pay a truck driver $350,000 for a knee injury sustained due to the inaction.
Clinton Johnson, 49, suffered the debilitating injury after stepping off a tow-hitch while carting for Fraser Coast Regional Council in September 2014, and has not worked since.
His injury would have been prevented if the council provided a mechanical system to cover loads, or even a step ladder to minimise the risk, the court ruled.
The Queensland District Court heard Johnson delivered gravel and asphalt used to repair roads, and was tasked with covering the load by placing a tarpaulin over it.
He was able to carry out his duties safely using a 16-tonne double-axle truck with a mechanical system with a handle to wind the tarpaulin from near the cabin over the load.
However, when assigned a smaller, 10-12-tonne truck without the system, he would have to manually pull the tarpaulin with a rope while standing at the rear of the truck.
The court heard Johnson told his supervisor he had difficulty carrying out this task and would stand on the tow-hitch as the load of asphalt extended higher than the tray of the truck.
On September 5, 2014, he stepped off the tow-hitch onto his right leg and twisted his knee.
How a defective truck seat caused a huge injury payout, here
The council unsuccessfully argued that Johnson fabricated the circumstances of the incident to fraudulently access workers’ compensation benefits.
He was the subject of more than 85 hours’ covert surveillance following the incident at the request of the council.
Judge Vicki Loury considered the footage to be “consistent with the nature of the plaintiff’s disability and supportive of his evidence that he sustained an injury from which he has not recovered”.
Loury was critical of the council for not instructing how, or enforcing a system to, cover the load that avoided standing on the tow-hitch, and not providing or enforcing the use of equipment to perform that task.
The council eventually installed a hoop tarp and electric pivot arm system on the truck in May 2015 at a cost of about $4,000.
A “reasonably practicable and cheap method of ensuring the plaintiff’s safety” would also have been to provide a step ladder.
A pre-existing degenerative knee condition suffered by Johnson was accepted and factored in to the final ruling but the council’s negligence ultimately “materially contributed to the injury”.
Johnson was awarded $349,548.07 for damages, past and future economic loss, and future medical expenses.