Johansen v Millmerran Shire Council

In the Supreme Court of Queensland, Wayne Ernest Johansen sued the Millmerran Shire Council for negligence and damages arising from an incident where he was injured while operating a front-end loader. The plaintiff, employed as a plant operator, was dismounting the vehicle when his foot slipped, causing a twisting and wrenching action that resulted in a back injury and subsequent depression. The Council was found to have been negligent in providing an inadequate and unsafe access system, which contributed to the accident.

The court had to decide whether the Council's negligence in providing an inadequate access system constituted a breach of their duty of care to the plaintiff, and if so, what the extent of that breach was. The court also needed to determine the degree of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff and assess the damages, including pain, suffering, loss of amenities, past and future economic loss, and future psychiatric treatment and pharmaceuticals.

The court found that the Council had indeed been negligent in providing an access system that was rudimentary and unsafe, and which could have been easily improved. The court also found the plaintiff to be contributory negligent in his decision to dismount in a manner that disabled him from using his hands effectively. The court apportioned 75% of the responsibility to the Council and 25% to the plaintiff. The damages awarded included $60,000 for pain, suffering, and loss of amenities, $55,000 for past economic loss, $120,000 for future economic loss, $9,280 for future psychiatric treatment, $4,000 for future pharmaceuticals, and other special damages totalling $34,165. After accounting for contributory negligence, the total damages were reduced to $234,747.73, from which the amount refundable to the Worker's Compensation Board, $40,989.08, was deducted. The final judgment awarded the plaintiff $193,758.65 with costs to be taxed.