A woman has been awarded $285,000 in damages after tripping on a cracked tile in the foyer of the Hellenic Club of Canberra.
The 67-year-old woman took the club to the ACT Supreme Court seeking damages for ongoing pain and injury from the fall.
In an ACT Supreme Court decision published on Wednesday, May 20, acting Justice Ann Ainslie-Wallace awarded her the money taking into account economic loss, out-of-pocket expenses, domestic assistance, and non-economic loss.
In November 2020, the woman visited the club to play Bingo and tripped on the cracked tile before stumbling, falling and injuring herself.
She said she fell heavily on her left side and on her right knee. The woman claimed her knee and left ribs were very painful and she found it hard to stand up.
When a manager came she pointed back to the spot on the foyer floor where she had tripped.
The tile was described by the woman as being uneven with a crack that was lifted about eight millimetres from the surface.
After recovering in the foyer, she went upstairs and played Bingo until about 5pm. She claimed that the pain in her chest was at a 10 during this time, there was pain in her knee and it was hard to walk.
That evening, the woman's husband took her to the emergency department but they left the hospital at 6am after waiting for several hours without being seen by a doctor.
They returned that afternoon and she spent three nights in hospital and was given morphine for pain relief. A general practitioner prescribed her Nurofen for pain relief the next day.
In court, a lawyer for the Hellenic Club argued the woman was running before the fall. She denied this and said CCTV footage showed her stumbling, not running.
Two experts were brought in to consider whether she was running and if she "tripped or slipped in falling" or if she "tripped on the cracked tile".
While the club's expert initially argued the woman was running at an estimated speed of 18kmh, he later agreed this was "improbable" considering the average cyclist travelled at 20kmh.
However, the judge did not accept the suggestion she was running and found it was more probable than not that in the short clip she was stumbling after tripping on the tile.
About six years since the fall, the woman said she continues to use Nurofen three times a week as well as a massage chair and hot packs to treat the pain.
She told the court her knee remained painful for five months after the fall but her ribs still cause her pain when she bends to pick things up. She said that she cannot lie on her left side which affects her sleep.
The woman argued she has had no physiotherapy nor seen a specialist because she cannot afford to go.
Acting Justice Ainslie-Wallace found the woman's injuries and resulting pain also impacted her mood and social life.
She had about four months off work due to the injury and claimed it was a year before she could dress herself independently.
Two occupational therapists had differing opinions on the case, one found she "presented with high pain levels" while the other opined she "demonstrated full range of movement with no discomfort or pain".
The latter therapist concluded the woman had "adopted a self-limiting fear of movement to avoid pain".
Acting Justice Ainslie-Wallace accepted the woman's explanation that the discrepancy was the result of her having taken Nurofen before the second evaluation.
Ultimately, the judge determined the Hellenic Club's negligence caused the woman to trip, fall and injure herself.
