Inmate suing Port Phillip Prison over fall from makeshift bunk

A packed Melbourne jail has channelled Will Ferrell comedy film Step Brothers to solve its overcrowding problems.

It’s understood Port Phillip Prison welded beds together to double capacity in some cells. Picture: David Caird

A Melbourne jail so packed with prisoners it welded single beds into bunks is now being sued after an inmate toppled to the floor while climbing into bed.

In scenes reminiscent of Will Ferrell’s comedy film Step Brothers – where two idiots fashioned their beds into bunks so they had more room for activities – it’s understood Port Phillip Prison welded beds above each other to double capacity in some cells.

But just like the characters in the 2008 comedy film, they didn’t install any ladders, with inmates ordered to clamber to the top bunk with the use of a plastic chair.

A prisoner, who is suing the State of Victoria and G4S Custodial Services for an injury caused by a fall, told the Herald Sun, “It was an Olympic sport to get into bed”.

The inmate, weighing 100kg and in his 40s, said there was little space left to crawl between the upper bunk and the ceiling.

Serving a two-month jail term in mid-2020 after persistently breaching a family violence intervention order, he said he was ordered by G4S officers to climb a plastic chair when he wanted to hit the hay.

Will Ferrell and John C Reily in 2008 comedy film Step Brothers.

On his fifth day in the Alex South Unit, he said the plastic chair slipped under his foot along the cell’s smooth, shiny concrete floor and his lower back slammed on the ground, leading to a “Code Black” emergency.

Now out of prison, he claims the back injury has affected his ability to do activities – to play with his daughter, garden, canoe and go fishing.

He also claims to suffer pain and headaches that impact his sleep and ability to stand or sit for long periods of time.

In a County Court writ filed by his lawyers at Arnold Thomas & Becker, he claims the State of Victoria and G4S were negligent in installing the bunks without ladders and failed to prevent a “foreseeable risk of injury”.

A prison source told the Herald Sun it was common for older units at Port Phillip to have bedrooms without ladders for bunk beds.

“They don’t have ladders, you have to get yourself up with a chair,” the prison source said.

“I’m surprised it has taken someone so long to sue.

“The facilities are not up to scratch.”

The source said the second bunks were originally a temporary fix when numbers fluctuated at the jail.

“It was meant to be temporary, but the bunks are now permanent,” the source said.

“Even if they have vacant single cells available, they put prisoners in two-out cells.”

The injured prisoner is claiming damages, interest and costs, with his lawyer Cameron Doig saying the State and G4S had a duty to protect him from harm.

“They breached that duty when they instructed him to access his upper bunk by climbing onto a chair, causing an injury that impacts our client’s day to day life,” he said.

Mr Doig said G4S shouldn’t have installed upper bunks without ladders and failed to assess and inspect the bed to ensure it was safe to climb into, resulting in the inmate’s “significant injuries”.

When contacted, G4S said: “It’s inappropriate to comment given this case is before the courts.”