By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A SUPREME Court judge dismissed a lawsuit from a former Commonwealth Brewery Limited employee last week after the woman sued the company for injuries she allegedly received after falling over a box at work.
Theodora Clarke, who had been employed at CLB for more than 20 years, allegedly suffered the mishap in the company’s warehouse office on August 5, 2016, while checking on a customer’s order.
Ms Clarke said she was leaving the area when she fell sideways and struck the wall after failing to break the fall with her left hand.
She said another agent left the box sitting in the walkway and accused the company of negligence. CBL countered that the box was placed under a countertop, out of the walking path.
Ms Clarke, who frequented the area because of her work duties, claimed that boxes are not usually placed in that area and said the injury caused her severe pain and discomfort.
Ms Rolle, a former employee who was present when Ms Clarke fell, testified that it was not unusual for boxes to be brought into the office and that it was not surprising to see boxes in the area.
The witness said she saw Ms Clarke on the ground but didn’t see her fall and therefore could not confirm that she “fell over the box just, that it was there”.
“If you’re not paying attention, you wouldn’t notice it,” the witness said about the box.
Ms Clarke said CBL breached the Health and Safety Work Act by failing to maintain a safe working environment for their workers.
However, the company rejected her negligence claim, insisting there was sufficient lighting in the warehouse to make the boxes visible and that all employees were aware of the boxes’ presence and the steps needed to be taken when walking through the premises.
CBL said “the plaintiff was negligent in that she traversed the relevant area in a manner which was unsafe to do, failed to keep any or any proper lookout while traversing the relevant area; failed to traverse the relevant area in a manner exhibiting reasonable care and concern for her safety, traversed the relevant area in question in a manner which was negligent in all the circumstances to wit: navigating the area in such a manner would have resulted in any tripping.”
CBL also called on Ms Clarke to prove that her alleged fall occurred in the manner claimed.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Ian Winder said he was not satisfied with Clarke’s argument, citing inconsistencies in her evidence compared to her own witness.
Justice Winder also found that the box was located in an appropriate place “in the circumstances of a busy warehouse office which deals actively in processing boxes of items”.
“Clarke’s claim is therefore dismissed with costs to CBL to be taxed if not agreed,” he wrote.
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