This matter involved GM who on his wedding anniversary decided to attend upon the Australian Shark & Ray Centre located at Port Stevens with his wife .
Whilst they were there and descending down a set of narrow stairs, GM slipped and fell causing injury to his back, neck and right arm.
Photos were taken of the area where he slipped and fell. Although the stairs were rubberised, they were wet and they were in disrepair.
At the time of the accident, the client was a warehouse manager which, although largely administrative, required him to perform some heavy lifting at times.
As a consequence of his injuries, his employment was terminated. He was however fortunate to find new employment approximately 2 weeks later in a similar role which did not require him to perform heavy lifting.
The new role did require him to work on additional 10 hours per week which left him with little time to attend to his medical needs. This meant that there was very little by way of out-of-pocket treatment expenses for attending to his general practitioner, specialist as well as physiotherapy. Through the careful presentation of the available evidence, GM’s early return to work and limited attendance upon his treating doctors did not diminish the permanent impairment that he suffered, and therefore his claim.
This was also a testament to GM’s resilience and desire to move on with his life despite this accident.
The initial offers made by the insurer were far from adequate which required the matter to be filed in the Courts. Soon after filing, liability was admitted.
It was only through the proper understanding of the processes and procedures, as well as the proper assessment of the damages likely to be awarded for our client that an amicable resolution was able to be reached by way of an informal settlement conference.
