Linda Evans sues Gympie council, Imbil Friendly Grocer over injuries

A Mary Valley hairdresser is seeking six figures damages after she tripped and fell in a monster pothole in the main street of Imbil and was injured so badly she was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

Imbil hairdress and mum Linda Evans (pictured) is suing Gympie Regional Council and the owner of the Imbil Friendly Grocery, claiming they were negligent by failing to fill or put signage around a monster 1m wide pothole which she tripped over, leaving her with multiple fractures and other injuries.

Imbil hairdresser Linda Evans jumped in her car just before Christmas in 2020 to grab a loaf of bread from the township’s corner store in the main street.

What she instead got were lasting injuries which forced her off work for months after she tripped and fell in a 1.3m-wide pothole in the road out the front of the shop.

Mrs Evans is seeking almost $230,000 in damages as a result of her injuries, which included a broken arm and wrist, which she claims were the result of negligence on behalf of the Gympie Regional Council and Devinlea Pty Ltd (the owner of the Imbil Friendly Grocery).

A council spokeswoman said they were unable to provide a comment at this time “due to the legal nature of the matter”.

Devinlea Pty Ltd declined to comment.

Neither has yet to lodge a defence to Mrs Evans’ claims.

Documents lodged with the Gympie’s District Court on Mrs Evan’s behalf by Shine Lawyers say the 65-year-old fractured the radial bone in her left elbow, her left wrist, and suffered injuries to her left thumb and right shoulder in the December 1, 2020 incident.

Court documents say Imbil hairdresser and mum Linda Evans (pictured) fractured the radial bone in her left elbow, her left wrist, and suffered injuries to her left thumb and right shoulder in the December 1, 2020 incident.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance and needed treatment by an orthopaedic surgeon.

The court documents say the grocery store’s owner “ought to have known” about the “visibly noticeable” pothole.

Further, they say councillor Bob Fredman had complained to the council in December 2019, about potholes along Yabba Rd near the shop.

It claims the council and the grocery store owner “should have taken reasonable steps” to fill the pothole, or put warning signs and markers around it.

Speaking on Monday, Mrs Evans said she was unable to work for three months.

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The pothole Linda Evans tripped in was 1.3m long and 1.2m wide and located in the fuel forecourt area of the Imbil Friendly Grocer, according to the court documents lodged with the courts.

This left her without a stable income.

She was unable to drive too, forcing Mrs Evans to rely on her children travelling up from Maroochydore to take her to appointments and treatment.

“It was very emotional and stressful,” Mrs Evans said.

Since she has returned to work she has needed to wear support on the elbow, which “just aches”.

“I’ve had to change the way I’ve cut,” Mrs Evans said.

“My thumb and wrist really kill me in the cold.”

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Documents lodged with Gympie District Court allege Gympie Regional Council and the owner of the Imbil Friendly Grocer were negligent by not filling the pothole in or putting warning signage around it.

She called it “ridiculous” that as of March 2023, more than two years after her incident, the pothole still had not been fixed.

This was despite two other nearby holes having been since been repaired.

Shine’s acting general manager Carla Melbourne said the council and the shop “have a duty of care to locals to ensure their shared grounds are safe”.

““You don’t expect a trip to your local grocer to end in injury, impacting your livelihood,” Ms Melbourne said.

“In our view, this was a preventable injury which would never have occurred if the safety of customers was considered.”