A Kambah woman has been awarded more than $150,000 in compensation after falling at a bar in Nortbourne Avenue, Kambah.

After enjoying a night out with family and friends in July 2013, the woman allegedly slipped and fell on the bar’s polished concrete floor. At 12:30am, the women left her accompanying group to meet a friend at a different area of the premises when the incident occurred.

Following the incident, the women reportedly suffered months of persistent pain. In turn, the woman has been forced to pay costly medical expenses out of her own pocket to compensate for her alleged injuries. This is due to the fact that her treatments were not covered by Medicare.

The woman also claims to have been forced to rely on family and friends to help her carry out basic duties as a result of her alleged injuries. She claims that she was unable to drive for two months following the fall, whereby she was forced to walk approximately two kilometres to catch the bus to work each day.

Whilst the cause of the fall was not entirely resolved, the victim alleges that the Kambah Bar failed to maintain the floor’s suitability for patrons. The woman allegedly claims that numerous drinks had been spilt on the floor throughout night by other customers, which the employees of Kambah Bar neglected to clean. Thus, the bars employees failed to apprehend their duties to ensure that patrons had a safe floor to walk on throughout the premises at all times.

In October, special magistrate Ken Cush ordered the Kambah bar to pay the woman $139,228 including $85,000 for pain and suffering, $15,000 for future economic loss and $10,000 for future domestic assistance.

What is a public liability claim?

A public liability claim arises when a person suffers from an injury as a result of a person, government authority or business operator failing to take reasonable care for that person’s safety.

In order for public liability claims to be successful, the plaintiff will have to prove that their injuries were caused as a result of the negligence of the person, government authority or business operator.

When is an occupier negligent in a slip and fall incidents?

A business owner may be liable of negligence if they act unreasonably in failing to remove, slip or trip hazards from floors or stairways of the business.

A proper cleaning procedure is dependent on various factors, such as the size of the store and the amount of the store’s employees. For example, a large supermarket store will usually be expected to identify and remove hazards located in their store within a 15-20-minute timeframe.

Therefore, the liability of business operators in slip and fall incidents will be primarily judged upon the amount of time between the spillage and the incident of the patron falling. However, the court will carefully analyse the facts and circumstances of the incident before the case is decided upon. 

If successful, what compensation may be recovered?

A successful public liability case can present several areas of compensation which may be recovered by the victim. Such areas of compensation may include:

  • Economic loss which may include lost wages (past and future) and medical bills.
  • Non-economic loss which may include pain, suffering and loss of companionship.
  • Gratuitous Care which may include the market value of medical assistance or services that have been provided by friends and family without cost to the injured person.

If you or somebody you know has suffered injuries as a result of a slip and fall at a public place, which you believe was due to the negligence of the owner or occupier, you may be able to seek compensation through the assistance of a lawyer.

We are a specialist Personal Injury and Compensation Law firm

At Turner Freeman we specialise in Personal Injury & Compensation Law. We have represented plaintiffs in some of the largest Australian personal injury and compensation cases, which gives us the advantage in achieving the best possible result for each and every one of our clients.

More importantly, we will investigate you case free of charge and if we believe that your case has merit, we will then act for you on a “No Win, No Fee” basis. This means that we will not charge legal costs unless we can achieve compensation for you. And so, it is definitely worth your while to let us investigate on your case.

Therefore, if you believe that you have suffered injuries as a result of an occupier or business-owner failing to maintain a safe place for customers, call 13 43 63 to speak with one of our experts or accredited specialists in New South Wales. Our offices are located in Sydney, Parramatta, Campbelltown, Newcastle, Penrith, Wollongong and Gloucester.