Patrick Stevedores Operations (No 2) Pty Ltd v Hennessy

Patrick Stevedores Operations (No 2) Pty Ltd and another appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a judgment of the primary judge who found them liable in negligence for injuries sustained by Mr Hennessy, an employee. Mr Hennessy had slipped and fallen while stepping up into a gatehouse at his workplace. The primary judge had concluded that the step into the gatehouse was "higher than normal" and that this, along with other factors, constituted a breach of duty of care.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had a proper basis for finding a breach of duty of care and for establishing causation. Specifically, the court considered whether the findings of fact made by the primary judge, particularly regarding the height of the step and the mechanism of the accident, were sufficiently precise and supported by evidence, especially given the primary judge's reservations about the reliability of Mr Hennessy's evidence.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeals, setting aside the primary judge's findings of breach of duty and causation. The court reasoned that the primary judge's findings were not adequately supported by the evidence. There were no precise findings as to the actual height of the step, nor were there clear findings about how the accident occurred. The court noted that the subsequent installation of an intermediate step by the occupier did not, in itself, establish negligence at the time of the incident. Consequently, the court found that the essential elements of negligence, namely breach of duty and causation, had not been proven to the requisite standard.

The Court of Appeal ordered that the appeals be allowed, the judgments and orders of the primary judge be set aside (with the exception of the costs order for cross-claims), and that Mr Hennessy's proceedings be dismissed. Mr Hennessy was ordered to pay the appellants' costs of the appeal and the costs of the proceedings at first instance, excluding the costs of the cross-claim, and was granted a certificate under the Suitors’ Fund Act 1951 (NSW).