Trusted by the judiciary, government lawyers, prosecutors, and many leading counsel. Click here to request a subscription.
Trusted by the judiciary, government lawyers, prosecutors, and many leading counsel.
Click here to request a subscription.
Hospital liable in respect of workplace injuries where system was unsafe
|
or click here to request site subscription to search and view all judgments |
High Court, in a personal injuries claim relating to a workplace accident in a hospital setting, allows appeal and finds that it would be unfair and disproportionate to dismiss the entirety of the plaintiff’s claim based upon her failure to carry out a necessary risk assessment prior to sustaining her injury, but nonetheless, a substantial finding of contributory negligence is warranted; and the court therefore imposes one-third liability upon the appellant where the respondent's system was unsafe but where the appellant was contributorily negligent.
High Court - Safety, Health and Work Act, 2005 - section 8(2) - personal injury - Circuit Court appeal - agreement regarding quantum - liability at issue - appellant worked for respondent in Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) - 23rd August, 2016 - applicant injured when stacking trays on a storage rack - believed loose wire on tray caused prick injury - weight of tray caused a crush injury - formally reported accident two days later - applicant submitted the case was not pleaded in the defence - veracity of appellant's evidence hadn't been challenged - argued the working system was unsafe - respondent argued it was an unwitnessed injury - inconsistencies in reports from automated system - no contemporaneous complaint of presence of wire or sharp object - argued formal report not made quickly - applicant had carried on working - argued contributorily negligent - court found nothing wrong with respondent's conduct of case - applicant was honest and credible witness - overcrowding issue hadn't been incorrectly pleaded - engineer's report used to establish the system of work on the day was not safe - Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 - section 8(2) - insufficient storage space - contributory negligence - plaintiff should've sourced another tray - application allowed - one-third liability imposed upon on the plaintiff - submissions to be made on final order and costs.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
