HEADNOTE
[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]
On 27 November 2008 the appellant, Ms Christine Vincent, sustained injuries to her back and knee when she collided with a shopping trolley being pushed by a customer down an aisle in Woolworths' supermarket at Narooma in New South Wales.
At the time of her accident Ms Vincent was employed by the second respondent ("Counterpoint") as a merchandiser. Her job was to attend relevant supermarkets to check on and adjust product presentations to ensure that they conformed with agreed marketing strategies. To assist her to reach upper shelves, Woolworths provided her with a "safety" step of about 50 centimetres in height.
During the course of her work on 27 November 2008 Ms Vincent stepped back off the step into the trolley being pushed by the customer. As was apparent from CCTV footage of the incident (and stills taken from it), Ms Vincent did not step in front of the trolley but, rather, stepped back into the rear part of it as it was passing behind her. Her hip hit the trolley and she fell heavily. Ms Vincent was one of some 150 to 200 merchandisers that Counterpoint employed to work at retail outlets throughout Australia.
Ms Vincent brought proceedings in the Common Law Division of the Court claiming damages for negligence from Woolworths as the occupier of the premises and from Counterpoint as her employer.
By judgment of 17 April 2015, Campbell J rejected Ms Vincent's claims and directed the entry of judgment for the respondents ([2015] NSWSC 435).
Ms Vincent appealed to the Court of Appeal, challenging the primary judge's findings concerning negligence, causation and apportionment of responsibility between the respondents.
Held, (by Macfarlan JA, McColl and Ward JJA agreeing), dismissing the appeal:
(1) The primary judge did not err in holding that Woolworths "owed visiting merchandisers a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid unnecessary risks of injury arising out of the ongoing conduct of Woolworths operations while they were performing their work" (Judgment [18] and [28]).
(2) The primary judge did not err in finding that the "risk" to be considered for the purposes of s 5B(1)(b) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) is a risk of some appreciable personal injury, although not necessarily of the severity of that suffered by the plaintiff ([32]-[34]).
(3) The primary judge did not err in declining to find that for the purposes of s 5B(1)(b) the risk of harm in the present case was "not insignificant" ([35]-[37]). It was relevant in this regard that the activity of Ms Vincent that led to her accident (namely, her getting up and down from a small step at a time when it was possible that something or someone might be passing behind her) was a commonplace activity in the performance of which occupiers of property were entitled to expect that users of it would exercise reasonable care for their own safety ([35]).
(4) The primary judge did not err in finding for the purposes of s 5B(1)(c) that a reasonable person in Woolworths' position would not have taken precautions in relation to such risk of harm as existed. Evidence of common supermarket practice was relevant in this regard.
Dovuro Pty Ltd v Wilkins 215 CLR 317 at [34] referred to.
(5) Whilst the Civil Liability Act was inapplicable to the claim against Counterpoint as Ms Vincent's employer, application of the common law principles identified in Wyong Shire Council v Shirt 146 CLR 40 required little substantive difference in approach.
(6) The fact that an employer's duty of care requires the employer to take account of the possibility of inadvertence or thoughtlessness of the employee, does not mean that the employer is not entitled to expect that the employee will exercise care in carrying out straight forward activities.
Seage v State of New South Wales [2008] NSWCA 328
Glass, McHugh and Douglas, The Liability of Employers (2nd ed) at p 23 referred to.