Childcare worker awarded almost $200,000 from Ipswich employer after rolling ankle on Lego block

A woman remains physically limited in her work and daily life after she rolled her ankle on a Lego block at the “negligent” childcare centre she worked at.

A childcare worker who stepped on a piece of Lego and rolled her ankle has received almost $200,000 in damages.

A judge found the Ipswich centre was negligent, noting it failed to ensure the block was packed away and failed to fix an internal shed light.

Chomba Annie Kabwe Nkamba was working at Woodcrest Early Education Centre in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane, in August 2017.

She started her shift before 6am and was in the process of setting up for the day.

Mrs Nkamba was dragging an A-frame from a storage shed and as she stepped out of the shed and on to the artificial grass she stood on the “four-piece square block”.

The roller door storage shed at Woodcrest Early Education Centre believed to be where Chomba Annie Kabwe Nkamba was stepping out from when she stood on the Lego block. Picture: Facebook.

Mrs Nkamba’s right ankle rolled and she suffered ligament damage. The treatment she received had “limited success” and she remains limited in her work and daily life.

“How the block came to be there is central to this case,” Ipswich District Court Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren said.

The lighting in and around the shed was examined because the incident occurred when it was still mostly dark.

“The plaintiff could not and did not see the block in the shed because a regular overhead light on the building face was of poor quality and did not shed any or any adequate light into the shed,” Mrs Nkamba argued.

“The internal light did not operate at the time probably because the switch was defective.”

Mrs Nkamba said a week before the incident, she and a colleague noticed the defective light and her colleague said she would note it in the maintenance book.

On the morning of the incident, Mrs Nkamba mentioned the defective light to her supervisor moments before she went into the shed.

“When (a senior centre employee) arrived as we’re walking in, setting up, I was like: ‘Was that light fixed?’” Mrs Nkamba said in evidence.

“So we had this discussion about lighting. And (the senior employee’s) response was: ‘Yes, yes, we’re aware. It’s been recorded to be fixed. It’s already in the maintenance book’.”

Queensland Childcare Service argued it was not negligent.

Lego blocks. Picture: Supplied

“The defendant pleads that any injury which she (Mrs Nkamba) did sustain … was a minor muscle strain which resolved in weeks, caused no ongoing symptoms or impairment and does not constitute compensable loss and damage,” according to court documents.

“The defence pleads that … you (Mrs Nkamba) knocked the block off the shelves on to the floor and that’s what you tripped on.”

Judge Horneman-Wren delivered his decision on Friday, awarding Mrs Nkamba $197,000 in damages and accepted her version of events.

“An undetected (Lego) block was on the floor of the shed … in the process of dragging out the A-frame structure, the block was projected from its resting position on the floor of the shed to the artificial grass area on the ground outside the shed,” the judge ruled.

“In the process of walking backwards as she continued to drag the A-frame, she (Mrs Nkamba) stood on the block and fell …

“I am satisfied the defendant’s negligence in failing to ensure that the shed was properly packed away the previous day and particularly to ensure the block was safely stored and not left lying on the floor, was a necessary condition of her injury.”