Kime v Vicinity Centres PM Pty Ltd

The matter of Kime v Vicinity Centres PM Pty Ltd was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where the plaintiff sought compensation for injuries sustained from a trip and fall on a kinked wet weather mat located near the entrance to a shopping centre. The defendants, two occupiers of the shopping centre, were found to have been negligent in maintaining the mat and were subsequently ordered to compensate the plaintiff. The primary legal issues before the court were whether the occupiers had breached their duty of care, if the risk was obvious or could have been reasonably foreseen, and if the plaintiff’s contributory negligence should reduce the amount of damages awarded. The court examined the evidence presented to determine if the defendants were liable for the plaintiff's injuries and, if so, to what extent.

The court found that the occupiers had indeed been negligent, as the kinked wet weather mat posed a foreseeable risk of injury. The defences of obvious risk and contributory negligence were rejected, as the court determined that the risk was not sufficiently obvious to negate the occupiers’ duty of care, and the plaintiff's actions did not significantly contribute to the accident. The court assessed the conflicting medical evidence to establish the cause of the plaintiff’s ongoing disabilities and evaluated the claimed heads of damage to determine an appropriate compensation amount. The court apportioned liability between the defendants, with the first defendant bearing 60% of the responsibility and the second defendant bearing 40%.

The court awarded the plaintiff a total of $172,554, with the first defendant to pay 60% and the second defendant to pay 40% of the judgment. The court reserved the decision on consequential orders for costs and allowed the exhibits to be returned. The parties were granted liberty to apply for further or other orders within seven days of the judgment.