Townsville City Council ordered to pay Leigh Bilson $600,000 for workplace accident

Townsville City Council has been ordered to pay almost $600,000 to a contractor left blind in one eye after an industrial accident.

Townsville City Council has been ordered to pay almost $600,000 to contractor Leigh Bilson, then employed by Vatsonic Communications Pty Ltd, who was left blind in one eye after an industrial accident involving a vacuum truck in Burdell in 2017. Picture: Cameron Bates

Townsville City Council has been ordered to pay almost $600,000 to a contractor left blind in one eye after an industrial accident.

The council has confirmed the ruling, saying the accident in Burdell in August 2017, had resulted in a culture change within the organisation and a huge reduction in the number of work-place accidents since.

The complex ruling by the Court of Appeal in Brisbane on September 13 follows an earlier decision in the District Court in Townsville on April 5, following a four-day hearing in July 2022.

In the earlier decision, Vatsonic Communications Pty Ltd, which had a council contract to operate a hydro vacuum truck to remove water and debris from drainage pollution pits, was ordered to pay its worker, Leigh Bilson, $359,689 following the incident.

In the incident, the vacuum truck operator lost control of the 11.5m long hose, which did a violent 180 degree turn in the air and struck him on the nose and left eye.

Townsville City Council says it is committed to “continually improving safety for both employees and contractors”. A spokesperson said that since the 2017 accident involving contractor Leigh Bilson, then employed by Vatsonic Communications Pty Ltd, its safety record has improved substantially. Picture: Evan Morgan

A Townsville City Council spokesperson confirmed the Queensland Court of Appeal on September 13 gave judgment in an appeal by all parties against parts of the District Court decision involving Mr Bilson, Vatsonic, WorkCover Queensland and the council.

The District Court in the earlier decision found that while Council was 30 per cent responsible for the accident, it was indemnified by Vatsonic because of the terms of its contract with them, the spokesperson said.

Queensland council contractor who lost his sight in one eye and ruptured his eyelids when he suffered a blow to his face from a “violent” vacuum hose has won compensation. Leigh Bilson was awarded $359,689 by Townsville District Court Judge John Coker in an 83-page decision handed down on April 5, following a four day hearing in July 2022. Picture: Shae Beplate

In the latest ruling, the Court of Appeal set that verdict and ordered that council pay $590,801.57 to Mr Bilson.

The order does not include costs, which are yet to be determined and are also likely to be significant.

The council spokesperson said the ruling was still subject to appeal periods and it was still “considering the judgment carefully”.

“Should the judgement stand, the amount noted as payable by council will be facilitated by council’s insurer.”

The spokesperson said that the latest judgment found that council was 30 per cent liable for the injuries sustained by Mr Bilson, and that Vatsonic and WorkCover were 70 per cent liable.

“The assessment against council for a higher financial amount was because that assessment was made on a common law basis, while the assessment against Vatsonic and WorkCover was limited as a result of regulation,” the spokesperson said.

“The Court of Appeal also found that the indemnity contained in the contract with Vatsonic was not allowed because of WorkCover legislation.”

In the latest ruling, the Court of Appeal set that verdict and ordered that council pay $590,801.57 to Mr Bilson. Picture: File

Mr Bilson’s lawyer, Rohan Armstrong of Townsville, declined to comment.

Vatsonic could not be reached for comment.

The council, meanwhile, said it was committed to “continually improving safety for both employees and contractors”.

The spokesperson said that since 2017, its safety record has improved substantially.

“Council recently had its health and safety audit by an external provider and achieved a result of 87.6 per cent, demonstrating the organisation’s commitment to health and safety.”

The council said that it engaged more than 600 contractor companies, most from within the Townsville community.

It said that in 2019, it had introduced an online contractor health and safety system that required contractors to provide all safety documents required by work, health and safety (WHS) legislation.

“As part of this introduction, council’s health and safety team provided free hands-on guidance to local contractors to ensure they were meeting their own health and safety legal requirements,” the spokesperson said.

“Council has had a decrease of 72 per cent in injuries during the past four years and continues to make employee and contractor safety its number one priority.”

Originally published as Townsville City Council ordered to pay Leigh Bilson $600,000 for workplace accident