Melbourne Man Wins $1.26 Million For Workplace Foot Injury

A Melbourne man and former construction worker who will need to have his foot amputated following a workplace accident was awarded $1.26 million in compensation for his pain and suffering and loss of employment in the Supreme Court of Victoria last week.

The former construction worker was employed by a project management and building firm – who were supervising and working on a refurbishment of a building in the Melbourne CBD when he suffered an accident in June, 2002.

When a ground floor lift was not working, the worker’s boss gave instructions to ‘fix it immediately’ despite the man not having any expertise or specific training in lift maintenance.

He was on a ladder inside the lift shaft attempting to fix the problem when he fell and sustained a devastating injury to his right foot.

The Melbourne man suffered severe and unrelenting pain, and restriction of movement, in his right foot. He has been advised by specialists that the foot will need to be amputated in the near future.

Recently, Supreme Court Justice Robson found the employer had breached its duty of care, and this breach had caused shocking injuries.

Justice Robson awarded damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities in life of $320,000 plus damages for pecuniary loss of $940,000, totalling $1.26 million, plus a substantial amount of interest.

Slater & Gordon solicitor John Karantzis said the case was a clear warning to employers using sub-standard workplace practices.

“Clearly, a safe and systematic workplace would have prevented such an accident.

Cases like this show how important it is for employers to take responsibility for workplace safety – as the consequences can be devastating.”

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