Glen Eira Council worker caught waiting tables, heavy lifting after Workcover claim for shoulder injury
A COUNCIL worker who argued her job caused debilitating shoulder injuries has had her compensation case thrown out of court, after video footage showed her waiting tables and lugging heavy cafe equipment.
Inner South
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A COUNCIL worker who claims her job caused debilitating shoulder injuries has had her compensation case thrown out of court after she was caught waiting tables.
Video footage taken as part of a WorkCover investigation and tendered to the County Court this month showed Ms Clarke “vigorously wiping down tables ... without any apparent discomfort or restriction”.
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Footage taken over several days also captured her carrying tables, a stack of chairs, umbrellas and sandbags — believed to weigh about 5kg.
Elisa Clarke cleaned houses as part of Glen Eira Council’s home care program but an “incident involving a vacuum cleaner” left her unable to continue her duties and she was given time off as part of a WorkCover claim, court transcripts stated.
Ms Clarke, 48, complained she had difficulty mopping and vacuuming since the 2010 incident and that she also struggled with basic daily tasks such as showering, dressing and washing her hair.
She also complained she had difficulty sleeping as a result of the pain and was able to drive only short distances.
But Ms Clarke was sacked by the council in November that year, after a WorkCover investigation revealed she had breached her return-to-work plan by working as a waitress at a St Kilda cafe while on leave from her cleaning duties.
The court heard that following her dismissal by the council, Ms Clarke went on to work as a waitress, as a carer, making icecream and on a cherry farm.
According to various doctors’ reports, Ms Clarke now also suffers from chronic back pain, mild carpal tunnel syndrome and injured her knee while working at a hotel in Bundaberg, Queensland in 2016.
County Court Judge Chris O’Neill said while he was convinced Ms Clarke’s shoulder injuries were a result of her work at the council, he did “not accept the situation is as bad as she would have it”.
“I am further not satisfied the problems with sleep which she claims are as significant as she would have it and in part relate to her back (pain),” he said.
“(And) her shoulder injuries did not stop her driving over four days from Queensland to Melbourne last year, despite her claim she only drives short distances.”
Judge O’Neill dismissed Ms Clarke’s application.
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