Coles Supermarket Australia Pty Ltd v Harris

Coles Supermarket Australia Pty Ltd appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria against a judgment of the County Court of Victoria. The appeal concerned a claim for damages for personal injury brought by an employee, Mr Harris, against his employer, Coles. Mr Harris sustained an injury while using a device provided by Coles, which he had not been trained to use safely.

The Full Court was required to determine whether Coles had breached its duty of care to Mr Harris. Specifically, the court considered whether the risk of injury to Mr Harris was reasonably foreseeable, and if so, whether the probability of that injury occurring was so low that no reasonable employer in Coles' position would have taken any precautions. The court also had to assess whether the risk of injury ought to have been obvious to an adult employee such as Mr Harris, and whether Mr Harris was guilty of contributory negligence.

The Full Court upheld the County Court's finding that Coles had breached its duty of care. The judges reasoned that the risk of injury was reasonably foreseeable, and that the probability of injury was not so low as to excuse the employer from taking precautions. They found that Coles had failed to provide adequate training or supervision regarding the safe use of the device, and that the risk of injury was not so obvious to Mr Harris that he should have been expected to avoid it. Consequently, the court found that Mr Harris was not contributorily negligent.

The appeal was dismissed, and Coles was ordered to pay Mr Harris's costs.