Brambles Australia Ltd (t/as Brambles Industrial Services) v Sandy

Brambles Australia Ltd (trading as Brambles Industrial Services) appealed a decision of the trial judge concerning injuries sustained by its employee, Mr Sandy, a truck driver. Mr Sandy was injured when his truck overbalanced while tipping a load. The central dispute revolved around whether the trial judge erred in accepting Mr Sandy's evidence that he had moved the truck from an out-of-level position to apparently level ground before tipping, and whether the employer had been negligent in failing to provide a safer tipping area.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the trial judge was correct in accepting Mr Sandy's evidence regarding the ground conditions at the time of the incident, despite submissions that if the ground had been level, the truck could not have overbalanced. Secondly, the court had to consider whether Brambles was negligent in not providing a better tipping area, and if the absence of prior accidents was a determinative factor. Finally, the court was asked to consider whether Mr Sandy's injury constituted an "injury" within the meaning of the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW), given that the fault lay with his employer's system of work rather than his own driving.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge was not in error in accepting Mr Sandy's evidence. The court noted that other evidence indicated that the apparently level ground contained irregularities, which could have caused the truck to overbalance. Regarding negligence, the court held that the fact no accidents had occurred for a prior period was not determinative. The risk of the truck overbalancing was foreseeable and the potential consequences were serious, making it unreasonable for Brambles to ignore this risk. The court also determined that Mr Sandy's injury did not fall within the definition of "injury" under the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* because the fault was attributed to the employer's system of work, not the use or operation of the truck by the driver.

The appeal was dismissed, and Brambles Australia Ltd was ordered to pay the costs of Mr Sandy and SGIO.