Sheppard v Qantas Defence Service Pty Ltd [2018] NSWDC 216

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Sheppard v Qantas Defence Service Pty Ltd [2018] NSWDC 216 Hearing dates: 25 June 2018 Date of orders: 10 August 2018 Decision date: 10 August 2018 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Strathdee, DCJ Decision: 1. Judgment for the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of $1,221,474.80.

2. The defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: NEGLIGENCE – removal of boxes packed underneath deak DAMAGES – future loss of earning capacity Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1965 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 Cases Cited: Dapyck Pty Limited v Burns [2003] NSWCA 83 Dasreef Pty Ltd v Hawchar (2011) 243 CLR 588 Mead v Kearney [2012] NSWCA 215 Podrebersek v Australian Iron and Steel (1985) 59 ALR 529 Wyong Shire Council v Shirt [1980] HCA 12 Category: Principal judgment Parties: David John Sheppard (Plaintiff)

Qantas Defence Service Pty Ltd (Defendant) Representation: Counsel:

F Austin (Plaintiff)

J Dodd (Defendant)

Solicitors:

Gerard Malouf & Partners (Plaintiff)

Barker Henley (Defendant) File Number(s): 2017/359672 Publication restriction: None

Judgment

Background 1. On 28 November 2017 David John Sheppard ["the plaintiff"] sued his employer Qantas Defence Service Pty Limited ["Qantas"] seeking damages for injuries he sustained in an accident at work on 2 July 2007. 2. Liability and damages were in issue between the parties. 3. The plaintiff was born in June 1970 in England and came to Australia with his family on 14 November 2005. He commenced employment with the defendant on 22 November 2005 at the Richmond Airforce Base as an aircraft engineer. 4. Prior to his arrival in Australia, the plaintiff had been in the Royal Air Force in England as an aircraft engineer, having attained a diploma in engineering and then a degree in engineering, and had attained the rank of sergeant with the RAF. In that role he supervised a team of 8-12 members and was involved in the analysis and diagnosis of aircraft structures and systems. 5. The role that he took up in Australia was as a consequence of him applying online to an advertisement placed by Qantas, and was a full time position based at the Richmond RAAF base. His role there was very similar to the role that he had performed in the RAF, and he attained a similar level of seniority, and became a maintenance quality inspector in Australia. 6. In July 2007, immediately prior to the accident, his role also included liaising with the RAAF and suppliers of parts and spares that were necessary for the repair and maintenance of C100 aircraft. He was also required to sign off on a lot ordering, and it was a role that he said he found quite stressful. 7. The majority of his work was office based work, but he would on occasion do some "outside" work, and would have to walk into the aircraft hangers to do so. He worked about 60 hours per week, with overtime and weekend work, as this was often required for an aircraft to be certified to fly. 8. The office that he worked in was adjacent to the aircraft hangar and was a partially open plan office in which he had his own desk and work station. There were 11 people in the office and the desks were side by side with dividing screens. He had worked at the particular desk in the office since about January 2007. It was at this desk that he was injured. 9. The plaintiff noted that there was no leg space under the desk as there was so much clutter there. There were approximately 9-10 boxes stacked underneath his desk to which he was assigned, and they were stacked up to 3 boxes high. They were all archive boxes which were, he states, A4 size to fit about 2-3 lever arch folders in each box. The boxes were underneath his desk during the time that he worked at that desk. There were other boxes lying around, and there were also dedicated archives rooms and filing cabinets in the office in which he worked. The plaintiff had never sought access to the boxes underneath his desk until the day of the accident.