Who’s responsible if I trip and fall in the loby of my workplace?

PUBLISHED 22 Jan 2020

In New South Wales, if you trip and fall at your workplace and suffer an injury, you may be entitled to workers compensation, potentially entitling you to the following relief:

Medical and rehabilitation expenses
Compensation for economic losses (e.g. employment wages)
A lump-sum compensation in certain circumstances, including compensation for pain and suffering if you have suffered a permanent impairment
Legal costs

Employer negligence

If you are injured at the workplace and sustained 15% or greater whole-person impairment as defined under the Workers Compensation Act, you’d be entitled to claim a lump sum for full wage loss – if you can establish that your employer was at fault or negligent. Examples of employer negligence include:

Failure to provide adequate and safe working conditions such as clothing, footwear and a safe environment to perform the work
Failure to sufficiently train (or supervise) to ensure that you are equipped with the right skills to carry out tasks assigned to you
Having you perform excessively heavy and repetitive lifting without adequate assistance
Allowing you to work at an unsafe location not owned or under the control of the employer (for example, a factory with wet and slippery floors, a laboratory with inadequate supervision or a building site with under-skilled workers)
Poor or severe working conditions that cause you to sustain significant psychiatric illness

Workers compensation

Depending on the circumstances of your workplace injury, it is also possible to make a workers compensation claim for a negligent third party other than your employer – an independent contractor or builder, for example. If you are making allegations of negligence against another party aside from your employer, you may be able to claim for not only wage deficit, but also for loss of superannuation, medical expenses (past and future), home care requirements and other personal needs. Additionally, you could be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering resulting from your injury that would not normally be possible with workers compensation.

With employers and insurers often trying to minimise their compensation payouts, you should seek the advice of a personal injury lawyer to determine your rights and entitlements. At Gerard Malouf and Partners, we offer free consultations and are committed to a No Win No Fee policy. Contact us on 1800 004 878 or schedule an appointment.