Top Hut Banoon Pastoral Co Pty Ltd t/as Trustee for the Wakefield Family Trust v Walker

The appeal concerned the liability of Top Hut Banoon Pastoral Co Pty Ltd (the employer) for injuries sustained by its employee, Mr Walker, who was employed as a shearers' cook. Mr Walker was injured when a step to his accommodation, located at a different worksite, collapsed. The employer had conducted a visual inspection of the premises but not a physical inspection of the step itself. The primary judge found the employer liable in negligence.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the employer had breached its duty of care to provide a safe system of work by failing to conduct a physical inspection of the step, whether this breach caused Mr Walker's injuries, and whether the primary judge had erred in assessing damages for past and future economic loss, and for past gratuitous domestic assistance and future commercial care. Specifically, the court considered whether the employer's duty extended beyond a visual inspection to a physical one, and whether the assessment of damages, including deductions for vicissitudes and the consideration of medical reports, was appropriate.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the primary judge's finding of negligence. The court reasoned that the employer's duty of care required it to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of its employees, and in the circumstances, a visual inspection was insufficient to discharge this duty. The employer ought to have conducted a more thorough inspection, including a physical one, to identify potential hazards such as the defective step. The court also found that the primary judge's assessment of damages was sound, including the deductions for vicissitudes and the consideration of the evidence presented.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs.