Personal Injury Lawyers Gold Coast & Brisbane explain slip and fall injuries on business premises. No Win No Fee Lawyers providing services throughout Qld. FREE legal advice 24/7.
I was recently having a game of bowls at a popular ten pin bowling establishment with my young nieces when I inadvertently stepped over the fowl line onto the very slippery alley surface, slipping & falling to the amusement of my competitors! And to add insult to injury, I managed to hit nothing at all!
Fortunately, although a bit sore, I didn’t suffer any serious injuries, but had I done so, then the bowling alley would have been liable for my injuries & any loss and damage I sustained as a result.
Slip & Fall the result of Negligence & Bowling Alley Liable to Pay Injury Compensation
This is because the bowling alley was negligent, and placed me at risk of injury. Why is this ? Firstly, the bowling alley had no clear marking of the fowl line indicating where the slippery alley surface began. There was also no signage warning of the danger whatsoever. There was no warning not to step over the fowl line as it was excessively slippery and could cause injury and neither was there any verbal warning of this when purchasing our game of bowls. The lighting in the area was also very poor, making the delineation between the fowl line and the slippery alley difficult to see. And as an amateur at the sport of ten pin bowling, I was clearly unaware of the dangers as well as susceptible to crossing the line in my amateurish attempts to bowl a strike and required this warning.
In failing to take reasonable steps to warn me of the danger and to clearly delineate the fowl line, the bowling alley was negligent and that negligence caused me to slip and fall on the unsafe slippery alley surface. Hence, if I had sustained injury, I would be entitled to bring a personal injury claim and pursue injury compensation from the bowling alley.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers Explain When is a Personal Injury Claim Worth Pursuing
Whether my personal injury claim would be worth pursuing would depend on whether the injury sustained caused interference with my capacity to work or earn income, or limited my capacity to look after myself or my home and family, or resulted in me requiring ongoing medical treatment injury. If any of these circumstances applied, then I would have a personal injury claim worth pursuing.
Bowler Slips & Fall during Glow-in-the-Dark Event & Awarded Injury Compensation of $157K
In a Gladstone case, a lady, Kathryn Windley, sustained a broken femur when she slipped and fell on the slippery alley surface after she stepped over the fowl line whilst taking a bowl. She was attending a “Glow-in-the-Dark” bowling night at a Gladstone bowling alley when she sustained her injury. She claimed that the bowling alley was responsible for her injury because the lighting, which had been dimmed for the glow in the dark event, was so poor that she was unable to properly make out the fowl line. As a consequence, she had stepped over the fowl line, slipping and falling on the excessively slippery alley surface, sustaining her broken leg.
Court Held Bowling Alley was Negligent & Liable to Pay Injury Compensation
The case went to the Gladstone District Court in the matter of Windley v Gazaland Pty Ltd trading as Gladstone Ten Pin Bowl [2014] QDC 124, and the Court agreed with her. The Court held that the bowling alley had been negligent in failing to provide proper delineation of the fowl line in the dark atmosphere created for the glow-in-the- dark bowling night. The Court considered that the lighting was too poor for the plaintiff to readily see the fowl line and this had contributed to the plaintiff slipping and falling and suffering injury.
Court Also Held Bowling Alley were in Breach of Contract
And the Court held that the bowling alley had breached not only their duty of care owed to the plaintiff at law, but it had also breached its duty to the plaintiff pursuant to contract. When the plaintiff paid the bowling alley for the bowling services, a contract existed between the parties. Pursuant to that contract, it was an implied term that the bowling alley would provide the plaintiff with a safe environment in which to participate in the glow-in-the-dark bowling event. In failing to provide proper delineation of the fowl line in the dim lighting, it had failed to meet its contractual obligation.
The Plaintiff Awarded Damages of $260K Primarily for Loss of Income Caused by her Injury
The plaintiff claimed damages for her injury. The primary area of her claim was in respect to her loss of income. The plaintiff had, prior to her fall, primarily worked in hospitality as a Tavern Manager, and in door to door sales work. The plaintiff’s injury resulted in her losing sales, and the Court accepted that in the future, the plaintiff would be excluded from work which required standing and being on her feet for extended periods. The Court awarded the Plaintiff a total of approximately $210,000 for past and future economic loss, including lost superannuation benefits. After all damages were assessed, the plaintiff was awarded a total of around $261,000 in damages.
Contributory Negligence Awarded Against the Plaintiff for Failing to Take Care for Her Own Safety
However, in its decision, the Court also considered that the plaintiff herself had also contributed to her injury occurring. The Court said that the plaintiff had failed to take care for her own safety whilst bowling, as she had frequented the bowling alley many times previously, and was therefore aware of the fowl line, and the danger in crossing over it whilst bowling. Consequently, the Court awarded contributory negligence of 40% against the plaintiff, reducing her damages assessed at around $261,000 by 40% to around $157,000. The Court noted that if the plaintiff had not been a frequent customer at the Centre previously, then it would not have awarded contributory negligence.
Ten Pin Bowling Not A Dangerous Recreational Activity
When considering the plaintiff’s case, the Court also asked the question whether the plaintiff had been undertaking a dangerous recreational activity whilst participating in the glow-in-the-dark bowling event. The reason for this is because under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (“CLA”), it is a Defence to a personal injury claim where the claimant has voluntarily placed themselves at risk, by participating in a dangerous event. The idea is that in doing so, the claimant is accepting the risks of injury that come with such participation.
The Court decided however, that the activity of ten pin bowling was not one that could be considered as a dangerous recreational activity. Hence, the Defence afforded under the CLA was not available to the bowling alley.
Had a Slip & Fall? You May Be Entitled to Injury Compensation
Where you suffer injury from a slip and fall whether on business premises or public or private property, you may have a right to claim compensation and damages for the injuries you sustain, and any loss and damage resulting from that injury. So if this has happened to you, the first thing you should do is contact us at No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers to find out what steps you need to take to ensure that your injury compensation claim is protected.
No Win No Fee Lawyers Gold Coast & Brisbane are Experts in Personal Injury Claims Including Slip & Fall Claims
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are experts in slip and fall injury claims and can advise you whether you’ve a claim to pursue and whether it is worth pursuing. We offer these services FREE of charge, and we’re available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can contact us by phone on 1300 388 383 or you can Livechat with us on our website. You can also send us an Enquiry via one of our enquiry forms on our website, to obtain an instant case appraisal or organize a free consultation or callback.
And when you seek personal injury advice from No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers, you’re advised by a Senior Lawyer, with long experience in personal injury claims.
All enquiries are FREE of charge, costing you nothing at all. They are also totally confidential and there are no strings attached. So you owe us no obligation whatsoever in making your enquiry with us.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers – If We Don’t Win You Injury Compensation then You Pay Us Nothing at All
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are just that, No Win No Fee lawyers. We provide our legal services on a no win, no fee basis. What this means to you is that we run your claim for you with no upfront costs, and no fees paid until the end of your personal injury claim. And we only charge you if we win you compensation. If we don’t win you compensation for your injury, then you pay us nothing at all.
There are Time Limits Applying to Personal Injury Claims, including Slip & Fall Injuries in Queensland
But you need to be aware that time limits apply to personal injury claims in Queensland. You therefore need to investigate your right to claim as soon as possible. Any delay could mean you have lost the right to significant injury compensation.