Foreseeability concerns whether a risk of harm could reasonably have been anticipated. It is an important part of assessing breach of duty in negligence matters.
Negligence
Common Law Claim
In Queensland workers’ compensation matters, a common law claim is a claim for damages based on an employer’s legal responsibility for a workplace injury.
Reasonable Care
Reasonable care is the level of care expected in the circumstances. The concept helps determine whether conduct fell below the standard required by law.
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence may arise where an injured person’s own conduct contributed to the harm they suffered, potentially reducing the damages recoverable.
USM Events Pty Ltd v James: Reasonable Precautions and Sporting Event Liability
A last-minute change to a Gold Coast triathlon put runners and racing wheelchairs on the same course. Was separating them through a narrow S-bend a reasonable precaution?
CCIG Investments v Schokman: When Is an Employer Vicariously Liable for an Employee’s Conduct?
When does an employee’s wrongful act fall within the course or scope of their employment? The High Court considered the connection required before vicarious liability will arise.
Tapp v Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft: When Is an Injury an Obvious Risk?
Four riders fell, an experienced competitor warned that the arena was unsafe, and the event continued. The High Court considered whether the resulting injury was truly an obvious risk of campdrafting.
Stewart v Metro North Hospital and Health Service: Future Home Care and the Compensatory Principle
Can an injured person claim the higher cost of receiving future care at home? The High Court considered reasonableness, mitigation, and the compensatory purpose of damages.
McGrath v Ezy Projects Pty Ltd: Ladder Safety, Employer Negligence, and Contributory Negligence
Review McGrath v Ezy Projects [2026] QDC 121, a Queensland workplace injury decision concerning ladder safety, employer negligence, contributory negligence and damages.
Liability
Understand the meaning of liability in Queensland compensation law, when a person may be legally responsible for harm, and how liability is assessed in negligence matters.