Summary:
Carbone Lawyers has secured a $157,000 total damages award for a 28-year-old after-school care educator who sustained a severe, permanent ankle injury at work. Despite both defendants denying all liability, making zero settlement offers, and claiming the client was almost entirely responsible for her own injuries, Carbone Lawyers successfully fought the matter before a jury. The outcome validated the client’s right to a safe work environment and ensured she was properly compensated for pain and suffering. prioritised speed and cost over safety.
Key Points:
- Jury Verdict: The jury assessed total damages at $157,000 for pain and suffering
- Overcoming Denied Liability: Both defendants refused to offer any settlement before trial, arguing the client was 90 percent at fault for her own fall.
- Expert Testimony: Strategic evidence from a specialised landscape architect established that the discarded garden bed timber was a dangerous trip hazard that should never have remained in a play zone.
- Defence Defeated: The jury rejected the defence position that the client caused her own injury or exaggerated her long-term pain
Case Details:
The Incident
The client was 23 years old at the time of the incident and worked as an after-school care supervisor at a school. Her core responsibilities included monitoring children, building rapport, and actively participating in outdoor recreation.
During an afternoon shift, the client joined the children in a game of soccer. While tracking the ball and supervising the students, she moved backward and tripped over the remains of an abandoned wooden garden bed border left protruding in the play field. The fall caused an immediate, severe fracture to her ankle, requiring major surgery to insert a metal rod and six surgical screws.
The Physical and Personal Impact
While the client demonstrated commendable resolve by returning to full-time work after three months of recovery, the structural damage to her ankle was permanent. The surgical hardware created visible scarring, chronic swelling after walking, and persistent pain.
Prior to the incident, the client was an active young woman who enjoyed fitness, travel, and outdoor activities. The permanent injury curtailed her lifestyle, preventing her from engaging in long-distance trekking, including a planned hike up Mount Fuji, and leaving her with ongoing physical limitations.
The Legal Strategy and Trial
The legal proceedings involved two defendants: the State of Victoria and the after-school care operator, her direct employer. Both parties denied liability throughout pre-trial proceedings and refused to make any financial settlement offer at mediation, insisting the client was at fault for moving backward without looking behind her.
Carbone Lawyers took the case to a six-day jury trial, building a robust case around two key pillars:
- Duty of Care and Design Faults: Carbone Lawyers called an expert landscape architect specialising in child play space design. He testified that leaving rigid timber inside an active play zone breached basic safety standards. Human movement during games like soccer naturally involves lateral and backward motion, meaning the hazard should have been removed long before the incident occurred.
- Addressing Contributory Negligence: The defence argued the client was 90 percent responsible for her injury and suggested her ongoing pain was exaggerated. Carbone Lawyers presented evidence from an expert orthopedic surgeon who confirmed that her decision to retain the surgical hardware was medically reasonable and that her lingering pain was genuine and permanent.
Furthermore, the client testified clearly that her focus during the game was correctly directed toward supervising the children in her care, rather than scanning the ground for improperly maintained structural debris.
Outcome:
Following deliberation, the jury rejected the defence argument that the client was predominantly to blame. The jury determined the total value of her pain and suffering at $157,000 and apportioned just 26 percent contributory negligence to the client.
Because the final verdict comfortably exceeded statutory thresholds, the court ordered the defendants to pay Carbone Lawyers’ legal costs, delivering complete vindication and financial relief to the client after a lengthy legal battle.