WATCH YOUR STEP

The ACT Supreme Court has held that the Australian Capital Territory is liable, in certain circumstances, to compensate a pedestrian who is injured by tripping on uneven footpath paving.In the particular case before the Court, the pedestrian was injured when she tripped on a paving tile protruding above the surface of the pavement as a result of the growth of tree roots. Fortunately for her, there was evidence that a similar accident had occurred in the same area previously and that the Territory was on specific notice of this type of accident occurring. The Court said that while it may be unreasonable to expect a local authority to ensure all paved surfaces in a city are in pristine condition, it was not unreasonable to expect repairs in an area where the problem was known to exist and which had caused an earlier accident. The Court said that the Territory was negligent in failing to address the specific problem area and had failed to carry out inspection and maintenance in accordance with its own policies.

DISCLAIMER

These personal injury law articles were published with the express permission of Stacks/The Law Firm. Please note that the information was correct at the time of publication, but personal injury law is subject to legislation changes from time to time and thus it is recommended that you contact a Stacks/Goudkamp lawyer should you have any questions relating to any of the topics above.