Martin v Wagga Wagga City Council

Leave to appeal was sought by a claimant who sustained serious head and facial injuries after stepping on a concrete ramp, her foot then slipping backwards. The claimant sought to recover damages from the Wagga Wagga City Council for these injuries. The application for leave to appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether there was insufficient evidence to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the Council had constructed the ramp, whether there was any evidence of negligence on the part of the Council, and whether there was any evidence that any such negligence caused the accident.

The court considered that the absence of any complaint about the ramp in the twenty-four years since its construction, despite significant traffic, provided cogent support for the conclusion that the ramp's steepness did not materially contribute to the accident. The claimant's own account of the incident, combined with concessions made during cross-examination and the context of the RTA Road Design Guide being aimed at pedestrians with mobility limitations, led the court to find that the trial judge's rejection of the claimant's case was inevitable. Consequently, the court determined that the appeal offered no prospect of success.

Leave to appeal was refused, and the claimant was ordered to pay the opponent's costs.