Labourer awarded $752k in damages after falling through skylight
A newly released Supreme Court judgment found the man's employer failed to cover up the skylight and then denied the accident had occurred.
In a recent decision by the ACT Supreme Court, a former construction worker has been awarded over $752,000 in damages for injuries sustained when he fell through a skylight in 2023. The scaffolding company responsible, ACT Height Safety Pty Ltd, was found to have acted negligently by failing to cover the skylight at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) construction site.
This negligence was deemed "obvious" by Acting Justice Michael Elkaim. Although the worker was in his 20s and working at a height of 1.2 metres above the laundry building roof when the incident occurred, he suffered severe injuries, including lacerations to his hand and damage to his lower back and thoracic spine. The worker's employer did not have the required workplace insurance coverage, and they claimed the man's injuries were pre-existing, while also denying the incident happened.
Justice Elkaim emphasized the employer's inadequate safety measures and called parts of the defense's case "simply unbelievable." Despite the worker's partial negligence for not taking extra precautions, the court found that the employer's level of negligence was significantly greater due to their duty of care and disregard for basic safety protocols.
The total awarded damages amounted to $752,487, including $127,500 for past earnings losses and $342,619 for future economic losses.
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