Sach Fernando and Team Maxiom recently achieved a pre-litigated damages award for a wonderful client who sustained frost bite injuries on his first day at work.  

The Plaintiff was employed by a labour hire company and was deployed to work at meat company. On his first day at work, he was given a quick walk around before starting work in the cold room to perform forklift duties associated with loading/unloading frozen meat. 

The Plaintiff had his own freezer gloves which were related to work at minus 22 degrees. He described these as “inner gloves” however he would typically be given layer gloves. He wore his own gloves before working for some three hours. His gloves were not checked.  

The Defendant contended that the Plaintiff was offered and refused gloves. The Plaintiff denied that he was offered gloves. The Plaintiff contended that he asked for gloves and eventually they were provided, however they were not well insulated.   

The Plaintiff contended that there were no prescribed break times. The Defendant contended that the Plaintiff was instructed to take breaks every 15 minutes. 

The Plaintiff sustained frostbite injuries to all digits on both hands, resulting in the amputation of his right index fingertip and left middle finger.  

The Plaintiff continued to be treated with hand therapy, and took medication in the form of targin, endone and panadeine forte to manage his pain. He continued to experience aching pains in his hands and fingers, and swelling around the amputated area. His fingers would discolour and would become particularly painful in cold weather. He experienced difficulty holding and manipulating objects which impacted his ability to write, use cutlery and engage in a variety of his hobbies including fishing and playing with his children.  

We argued that the risk of frost bite injury was reasonably foreseeable, and a simple and cost effective measure should have been taken to ensure the Plaintiff had access to proper gloves and the warm room.