Case Studies
Landmark win in Westfield slip & trip case
Al Kammessy vs Argo Managing Agency [2018] NSWCA 176
This landmark win in the Court of Appeal related to a customer slipping at a Sydney Westfield.
HBA Legal acted for the insurer of the cleaning contractor. This was a complex case which involved our team tracking down a key witness, via social media, who was back in his native Vietnam. That witness, who was not easily found, ultimately gave crucial evidence.
The team at HBA Legal demonstrated that it is possible to win a ‘contract cleaner’ matter where a spill is not detected by a cleaner, provided the cleaners are exercising ‘reasonable care’. Perfection on the part of the cleaner is not required.
HBA Legal demonstrated that reasonable care to identify and remove hazards is the duty, and this duty does not guarantee that cleaners will remove every hazard in their surveillance of floors. And if a hazard remains, it doesn’t necessarily make the cleaning company negligent or liable.
The plaintiff’s initial win in the District Court was based on a finding of a ‘casual act of negligence’ on the part of a cleaner. Our team had this overturned by the Court of Appeal creating a precedent.
