Dahler v Australian Capital Territory

Dahler (the applicant) brought proceedings against the Australian Capital Territory (the respondent) in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The applicant sought to recover damages for personal injuries sustained as a result of a fall on a public footpath. The applicant alleged that the respondent was negligent in its maintenance of the footpath, which had a raised section causing the fall.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent owed a duty of care to the applicant in relation to the maintenance of the footpath, and if so, whether that duty had been breached. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the respondent had taken reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to users of the footpath, considering the condition of the footpath at the time of the applicant's fall.

Judge Driver found that the respondent did owe a duty of care to maintain public footpaths in a reasonably safe condition. The Court considered the evidence regarding the nature and extent of the defect in the footpath, the foreseeability of the risk of injury, and the reasonableness of the steps the respondent could have taken to address the defect. The Court concluded that the respondent had breached its duty of care by failing to adequately inspect and repair the footpath, thereby allowing a dangerous condition to persist. The Court found that the respondent ought to have foreseen that a person using the footpath could trip on the raised section and suffer injury.