Island worker sues resort for $430k after ‘choking’ on roommate’s urine

The owners of an exotic island resort in the Whitsundays have been ordered to pay $431,000 to a former employee who was the victim of a disgusting act performed on him by another worker.

The owners of an island resort in the Whitsundays have been ordered to pay $431,738 to a former employee who was urinated on by another worker.

The Supreme Court of Queensland on Friday delivered the decision that China Capital Investment Group, which operates Daydream Island, should be held vicariously liable for the negligence of Sean Hewett who urinated on his roommate.

In his Court of Appeal judgment, Justice Philip McMurdo said Hewett had been drinking at a staff bar before he returned to the accommodation he shared with his direct supervisor Aaron Schokman, 30.

Mr Schokman heard Hewett vomiting in their bathroom in the early hours of November 7, 2016.

“About 30 minutes later I woke up in complete distress and I was unable to breathe,” Mr Schokman said in his police statement which was detailed in court documents.

“I immediately realised that I was choking and inhaling Hewett’s urine.

“I looked up and observed Hewett standing over my bed with his shorts pulled down a short distance and his penis was exposed while in the act of urinating.”

Justice McMurdo said Mr Schokman’s evidence about the incident was uncontested, and Hewett was not a witness.

Daydream Island resort, which is operated by China Capital Investment Group.

Mr Schokman had previously been diagnosed with cataplexy and narcolepsy, and immediately after the incident he suffered a cataplectic attack.

He has now successfully appealed the decision of a trial judge who last year found Daydream Island was not vicariously liable because the incident didn’t occur in the course of Hewett’s employment.

The trial judge did however conclude that Mr Schokman’s conditions of cataplexy and narcolepsy were exacerbated as a result of the incident, such that he suffered a level of impairment of his whole person in the range of 10 to 20 per cent.

The justices found that Hewett was so drunk that he was mistaken as to where he was.

Justice McMurdo highlighted that Mr Schokman and Hewett were required to live on the island as part of their employment contract, and provided with shared accommodation.

“(Hewett) was not occupying the room as a stranger, but instead as an employee, pursuant to and under the obligations of his employment contract.

“There was in this case the requisite connection between his employment and the employee’s actions.

“The respondent should have been held to be vicariously liable for his negligence and the loss which it caused.”

The trial judge in May 2021 assessed Mr Schokman’s total loss to be $431,738 which considered pain and suffering, economic loss and capacity, and future treatment.

Justice McMurdo on Friday ordered China Capital Investment Group to pay that sum to Mr Schokman after allowing his appeal.

He also ordered the parties to provide submissions as to costs for the trial, the appeal court, and as to any further order which should be made.

Mr Schokman’s lawyer Kylie Carson said they were pleased and welcomed the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal.

“Shine Lawyers is proud to have represented Aaron in seeking justice for the injuries that he has suffered in his workplace,” the Legal Practice Manager and Special Counsel said.

“Aaron is happy to put this ordeal behind him and will move forward with the confidence that his employer has been held responsible for what occurred while he was working on Daydream Island.”

Daydream Island has been contacted for comment.