Mark Vincent Howard sues Paradise Point Bowls Club Inc for $750K after alleged slip at venue
A popular Gold Coast bowls club has been hit with a $750,000 damages claim from a customer who alleges the club was negligent in not mopping up spilt liquid upon which he subsequently slipped.
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A popular Gold Coast bowls club has been hit with a $750,000 damages claim from a customer who alleges the club was negligent in not mopping up spilt liquid upon which he subsequently slipped.
Mark Vincent Howard, 63, lodged the damages claim against Paradise Point Bowls Club Inc in the Southport District Court on May 1.
According to Mr Howard’s statement of claim, he and his wife attended the bowls club on the evening of December 21, 2023, to have dinner with friends of theirs.
He alleged that at about 8.15pm, he and his wife were leaving the premises via a tiled walkway immediately adjacent to the bar when “suddenly, and without warning, his foot slipped forwards and out from under him, causing him to fall awkwardly, thereby inverting his left ankle and sustaining injury”.
Mr Howard’s claim noted he was wearing R.M. Williams boots with a “rubber sole that was in good condition and offered excellent slip resistance”.
The liquid he allegedly slipped on was about 450mm wide and 200mm deep, directly in the path of persons using the walkway, impossible to see due to poor lighting and the colour of the tiles, and had been left there for an “unreasonable period of time”, Mr Howard alleged.
He claimed he suffered a “distal tibiofibular syndesmotic injury to the left ankle, including an avulsion fracture of the distal lateral tibia requiring surgical fixation” – essentially, a high-ankle sprains that pulled a bone fragment off the main bone structure.
Mr Howard alleged the club was negligent in that it exposed him to a foreseeable risk of injury by causing or permitting the liquid to remain on the walkway for an “unreasonable period of time”.
He claimed the club had not implemented a reasonable system of periodic inspection and cleaning of the walkway and failed to provide its employees with “any adequate training or instruction in relation to the performance of periodic inspections and cleaning of the walkway”.
Mr Howard, who according to his statement of claim was engaged at the time as an IT consultant for Paxus Australia earning $3300-plus net per week, is seeking damages worth a maximum of $750,000, plus interest.
Included in his claim is $170,563.68 for past economic loss and foregone superannuation; $367,888.75 for future economic loss and foregone superannuation; $99,000 for the 1800 hours of “gratuitous care and assistance” allegedly provided by his wife to help him in daily life; $65,824 for future gratuitous care and assistance; $11,751.52 for future medical expenses; and $5734.79 for past medical expenses.
Paradise Point Bowls Club is yet to file a defence or indicate its intention to defend the matter.
The club has been contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Mark Vincent Howard sues Paradise Point Bowls Club Inc for $750K after alleged slip at venue
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