Kabic v Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer (No 3)

Kabic was an employee of a labour hire company who was working on a building site operated by a principal building contractor. Kabic fell and injured himself when he slipped on a wet patch of concrete on the site. Kabic brought a claim for damages against the labour hire company, the principal contractor and a sub-contractor. The labour hire company and the principal contractor argued they were not liable for Kabic’s injuries, claiming there was no breach of the duty of care they owed to him. The sub-contractor argued it was liable because it had breached its duty of care to Kabic. Kabic argued that the employer had breached the non-delegable duty of care owed to him, and that he had not been contributorily negligent. The sub-contractor argued Kabic was contributorily negligent because he had not taken reasonable care for his own safety.

The court found that the labour hire company and the principal contractor had not breached their non-delegable duty of care. The court found the sub-contractor had breached its duty of care, and was therefore liable for Kabic’s injuries. The court found that Kabic had failed to take reasonable care for his own safety, and was therefore contributorily negligent. The court found that Kabic’s damages included non-economic loss, past economic loss and gratuitous domestic assistance.

The court ordered the sub-contractor to pay Kabic damages for his injuries, less 50% for his contributory negligence. The court ordered the sub-contractor to pay damages in the amount of $650,000.