Ben Ross sues Channel 9 over arm wrestle injury
There are a number of circumstances where an employee can sue their employer. In this case Ben Ross was participating in an arm wrestle on the popular television show ‘The Footy Show’ against another former rugby league footballer and has injured his arm. In fact the footage showed on Channel 9 was quite gruesome showing that his arm had popped out as a result of the arm wrestle.
There are many dangerous occupations that everyday Australians are engaged in that, if not performed carefully and with skill, can result in significant injury. The best example would probably be machine operators such as those operating cranes, tractors or even smaller devices such as chainsaws and jackhammers. Misuse of these machines can result in serious injury.
Most employees sue their bosses under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998. To sue Channel 9, we would assume that Ben Ross was an employee of Channel 9. Provided that Ben was an employee of Channel 9 his injuries would have to be assessed by a specialist doctor as giving rise to a 15% whole person impairment.
This means you have to be fairly seriously injured to be able to sue your employer. The sad truth is many Australians are injured at work each and every day and if everyone was able to sue their employer the court system would be choked by workplace injuries and as a matter of policy employers should not really be sued for minor injuries.
When a doctor assesses as having a whole person impairment of 15%, you also need to demonstrate that your employer was negligent. In this case it would need to be proven that it could be reasonably foreseeable that this arm wrestle contest between two bruiting former footballers would result in injury.
If your injury is not serious you are still entitled to basic workers compensation rights including payment loss of wages and payment of medical expenses.
If you have been injured in the course of your employment, you should contact our expert lawyers at Turner Freeman for a free discussion as to whether you have any workers compensation rights or can sue your employer for their negligence.
