Reilly v Devcon Australia Pty Ltd

Reilly v Devcon Australia Pty Ltd concerned a claim brought by the plaintiff, Reilly, against Devcon Australia Pty Ltd, the main contractor, following a building collapse that resulted in Reilly's injuries. The plaintiff also sought to hold Devcon as the deemed employer of a subcontractor, asserting that Devcon breached its occupational health and safety duties. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether Devcon owed a duty of care to the plaintiff as the deemed employer of the subcontractor and if Devcon breached that duty by failing to ensure the safety of the construction site. Additionally, the court had to determine if Devcon could reasonably have implemented safety measures that would have prevented the accident.

In delivering the judgment, the court held that Devcon owed a duty of care to the plaintiff as the deemed employer of the subcontractor, as per established precedents. The court found that Devcon had indeed breached this duty by failing to provide a safe working environment. The court examined the concept of reasonable practicability and concluded that there were measures that Devcon could have implemented to prevent the accident, which were within the realm of practical possibility. As such, the court rejected Devcon's argument that the measures were not reasonably practicable.

The appeal brought by Devcon was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Victoria. The court upheld the lower court's findings that Devcon was liable for the injuries sustained by the plaintiff due to the breach of occupational health and safety duties.