Conference manager wins $600,000 damages after falling off stage at Baha’i Centre

A Queensland conference planner who fell off a Hobart auditorium stage after an unsecured wooden step gave way has been awarded more than $600,000 by a Supreme Court judge.

The Baha'i Centre in Hobart as it neared completion

A Queensland conference planner who fell off a Hobart auditorium stage after an unsecured wooden step gave way has been awarded more than $600,000 in damages, following what a Tasmanian Supreme Court judge said was “an accident waiting to happen”.

Janelle Lee Carleton sued the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Australia Incorporated for negligence after sustaining injuries at a 2013 national legal seminar held at the Baha’i Centre of Learning in central Hobart.

The mother of two claimed the defendant failed to affix the plywood box to the stage or floor, failed to ensure the step did not move or flip when stepped upon, and failed to assess the risk of personal injury to people using the facility.

During a five-day hearing held in late 2023, Mrs Carleton gave evidence that as she made to walk off the stage prior on the conference’s second day, she looked down to see a “timber box which was being used as a step”.

“I stepped off the stage onto the step which was a timber box…I put my foot onto the step and it tipped forward and I came off onto the polished concrete floor onto my right side,” the plaintiff told the court.

“I hit my right arm and hip, and the momentum of coming off, my left hand came across me and also slammed in – as I’ve come down like that, slammed into the concrete.”

Justice Robert Pearce found that while the timber box had been disposed of by the defendant some time after the incident and had therefore never been available for examination, Mrs Carleton’s evidence that it was only 60cm wide had been strongly corroborated by photographs.

A conference delegate also testified that she had witnessed then-Tasmanian Governor, Peter Underwood AC, stumble on the same step as he left the stage after officially opening the event the day before Mrs Carleton’s incident.

Justice Pearce said it should have been obvious to any reasonable and prudent observer that a 60cm-wide, lightweight step which had not been fixed into place might tip or move when walked on.

“In common parlance, given the dimensions and construction of the step and the fact that it was not fixed to the stage or the floor, it was an accident waiting to happen,” His Honour said.

“Mrs Carleton fell because the defendant failed to fix the step to the stage or the floor. It was a simple and inexpensive matter to have done so, and would have avoided the risk posed by the step.

“I find that a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have taken that precaution. In circumstances where the material risk arose from the fact that the step was unsecured and able to move or tip, the likelihood of serious harm was not low.”

“I am satisfied that the defendant’s breach of duty caused Mrs Carleton to fall.”

In assessing damages, Justice Pearce took into account the plaintiff’s pain and suffering since the incident, medical expenses, and lost earnings and superannuation.

The court ordered the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Australia Incorporated to play Mrs Carleton a total of $615,000, including $400,000 for past and future lost earning capacity; $90,000 for pain and loss of amenity; $55,000 for past and future medical expenses, and $20,000 interest on damages.