Talty v Cotton on Group Services Pty Ltd

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Talty v Cotton On Group Services Pty Ltd [2016] QDC 99

PARTIES:

ERIN JADE TALTY

(plaintiff)

v

COTTON ON GROUP SERVICES PTY LTD

(defendant)

FILE NO/S:

1723/2015

DIVISION:

Civil  

PROCEEDING:

Claim

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court of Queensland

DELIVERED ON:

29 April 2016

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

10-11 March 2016; 16 March 2016

JUDGE:

Butler SC DCJ

ORDER:

There will be judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $235,668.00.  1.   

I will hear from counsel as to costs.

2.   

CATCHWORDS:

DAMAGES – PERSONAL INJURIES – QUANTUM – Liability admitted – Workplace accident – Dispute as to quantum of damages

COUNSEL:

A D Stobie for the plaintiff

S P Gray for the defendant

SOLICITORS:

McNamara & Associates Solicitors for the plaintiff

B T Lawyers for the defendant

Introduction

1. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant Cotton On Group Services Pty Ltd (“Cotton On”) as an inwards team supervisor at the defendant’s warehouse.  On 11 April 2012 the plaintiff was injured in an accident at work when she was struck on the side of the head by a pallet weighing approximately 90 to 100kg which fell from a height of about 6 meters.  The plaintiff claims damages for injuries suffered as a result of that accident.  The defendant admits liability and negligence, but disputes the nature, extent and consequences of the injuries alleged to have been suffered by the plaintiff.  The quantum of damages is in issue. 

The plaintiff’s pre-accident qualifications and employment

1. Ms Talty was born on 13 December 1983.  She was 28 years of age at the time of the accident and is aged 32 now.

1. Ms Talty was educated to year 12 but did not succeed academically. Her senior exit statement was tendered as an exhibit.  It recorded limited or very limited achievement in all her subjects.  She said that she had stopped applying herself in her teenage years.  After finishing school she succeeded in obtaining a traineeship in horticulture with Ipswich City Council.  Over a decade of working for the Council Ms Talty progressed from being a trainee to a field worker, then a crew leader and, for a year and a half, an acting supervisor.  The work, which involved maintenance of street and park vegetation, was physical but as she progressed she became responsible for the supervision of other staff.  She then applied for and obtained appointment as an inwards supervisor at Cotton On.  The work combined administrative functions, coordination and staff management of a small team. 

1. Notwithstanding her very poor academic record, the plaintiff presents as having been a committed employee.  In addition to her work with the streetscape maintenance for the Council she also supplemented her income from time to time with casual positions as a bottle shop attendant and nursery attendant on the weekend.  She completed a Certificate II in horticulture and a range of certificates and tickets in workplace functions. At an early age she purchased a residence and was paying off the mortgage. She participated recreationally…