Donna Gillespie files lawsuit against Blackdown Accommodation Services for accident at Tieri

A former housekeeping manager is suing for more than $500,000 for a workplace incident at an accommodation village in Central Queensland.

A former housekeeping manager is suing for more than $500,000 for a workplace accident at an accommodation village in Central Queensland where she claims she suffered multiple lower back injuries while loading a bag of linen into the back of a car.

Donna Lee Gillespie, 61, who lives in Southport, was contracted with Glencore Australia to work as a housekeeping manager at the Maywin Park Accommodation Village in Tieri.

The lawsuit was filed against Blackdown Accommodation Services for $582,430.29 over the incident, which occurred on April 2, 2018.

Ms Gillespie claimed she picked up a bag of linen from the ground and raised it up to throw it onto the tray back of a utility vehicle when she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her left buttock and numbness down her left leg.

She claimed she suffered a left pelvic insufficiency fracture and osteopenia (bone loss), and aggravation of a pre-existing lower back injury.

She claimed Blackdown Accommodation Services failed to provide a safe workplace and was in breach of its duty of care owed to her.

Due to her injuries, she claimed she endured pain, suffering, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of the amenities of life, and had been left with a permanent disability.

She claimed that before the injury she had planned on continuing to work to retirement at age 67 years, however, was now unlikely to return to any form of employment.

The lawsuit was filed in Rockhampton District Court by Smith’s Lawyers on September 2.

According to a defence filed by Blackdown Accommodation Services, the company claimed the alleged incident was not witnessed by any person and not reported to Ms Gillespie’s employer until after her employment was terminated.

The company also claimed Ms Gillespie continued working after the alleged incident and first sought medical assistance on April 19, 2018.

While the company acknowledged Ms Gillespie had suffered fractures, it claimed they had healed and denied she had suffered an aggravation of a pre-existing lower back injury because it was against medical opinion.

The company denied having failed to provide a safe workplace and claimed Ms Gillespie was not exposed to a foreseeable and not insignificant risk of injury.

The company further claimed Ms Gillespie would not have been able to work until the age of 67 due to her employment history and unrelated injuries and illnesses.

Ms Gillespie’s solicitor and Blackdown Accommodation Services were contacted for comment but did not respond by time of publication.