Context, credibility and currency: Factors to consider in the defence of employee injury claims

Focus: Queensland Court of Appeal decisions in employer/employee claims Services: Insurance Industry Focus: Insurance The standard of care attached to an employer's duty of care to his/her employee is high. This article discusses three Queensland Court of Appeal decisions in employer/employee claims in the past year, where the employers ultimately successfully defended liability. While each of the cases turn on their facts, the decisions highlight matters to consider in the defence of litigated employer/employee injury claims.

The context of the relevant risk - Endeavour Foundation v Weaver [2013] QCA 317

In this case, a worker sustained injuries while demonstrating a 'back steps' manoeuvre during staff training on techniques to avoid a real-life attack or assault (to assist in the event that a client becomes agitated or violent towards staff). The training was initially provided by an external agency, with subsequently trained staff members of the employer (such as the worker) then training other staff.

The trial judge found that the employer had unnecessarily exposed the worker to a risk of injury by:

having had her instructed in the initial training that the 'back steps' manoeuvre had to be performed quickly, and directing her to perform the manoeuvre as quickly as possible in the subsequent training session. The trial judge found that such directions were unreasonable given the unnatural action of the manoeuvre and the training session context in which the worker demonstrated the move.

On appeal, the Court found that:

The trial judge misunderstood the nature of the instructions, with evidence demonstrating that the worker was directed to move at a pace which practice had rendered her capable...