Childcare worker awarded $200k after twisting her ankle on Lego block
December 20, 2022Childcare worker who stepped on a piece of Lego and twisted her ankle wins a $200,000 payout after centre left the rogue block outside
- Brisbane District Court ordered Queensland Childcare Service to pay damages
- Ex-childcare worker Chomba Annie Kabwe Nkamba was awarded $197,013
- Mrs Nkamba stepped on a Lego block at Woodcrest Early Education, Ipswich
- She hurt her ankle and suffered ligament damage limiting her work and daily life
- Judge ruled the centre was ‘negligent’ as it failed to ensure blocks were packed
A childcare worker has won close to $200,000 in damages after she stepped on a piece of Lego and rolled her ankle while setting up an obstacle course for kids.
The Brisbane District Court on Friday ordered Queensland Childcare Service Pty Ltd to pay a former employee $197,013.98 after it ruled the childcare centre was ‘negligent’ for failing to ensure a Lego block was packed away.
Ex-employee Chomba Annie Kabwe Nkamba was working at Woodcrest Early Education in Ipswich, south west of Brisbane, when she stepped on a Lego block while setting up for the day in August 2017.
Ms Nkamba was dragging an A-frame from the centre’s shed when she stepped out of the storage unit onto the artificial grass and stood on the ‘four-piece square block’.
She rolled her right ankle and fell to the ground in pain.
Chomba Annie Kabwe Nkamba was working at Woodcrest Early Education (pictured) in Ipswich, south west of Brisbane, when she stepped on a Lego block while setting up for the day
After suffering ligament damage and receiving treatment, with ‘little success’, Ms Nkamba was left with constant pain and was limited in her work and daily life.
Judge Sandy Horneman-Wren, opened his ruling with the conundrum faced by many parents since the first Lego brick was made almost 75 years ago.
‘Generations of parents have admonished their children to put away their building blocks lest someone stand on them,’ Judge Horneman-Wren said.
‘How the block came to be there is central to this case.’
The 94-page decision delivered on Friday examined the lighting in and around the shed as the incident occurred just before 6am and it was still dark.
Mrs Nkamba argued she could not and did not see the block in the shed because the storage unit’s internal light was broken, which she reported to her colleagues to fix – a fact disputed by the childcare centre.
Mrs Nkamba was dragging an A-frame from the centre’s shed (pictured) when she stepped out of the storage unit onto the artificial grass and stood on the ‘four-piece square block’
‘The internal light did not operate at the time probably because the switch was defective,’ Ms Nkamba said.
A week before the incident, Ms Nkamba and a colleague noticed the broken light, before her colleague said she would write the defect in the maintenance book.
On the day of the accident, Ms Nkamba asked her supervisor Beth if the light had been fixed moments before she stepped into the shed.
‘When Beth arrived as we’re walking in, setting up, I was like: “Was that light fixed?”‘ Ms Nkamba said.
‘So we had this discussion about lighting. And Beth’s response was: ‘”es, yes, we’re aware. It’s been recorded to be fixed. It’s already in the maintenance book.”‘
Queensland Childcare Service argued that Ms Nkamba had knocked the Lego block to the ground while moving the play equipment and tripped.
‘The defence pleads that … you (Mrs Nkamba) knocked the block off the shelves on to the floor and that’s what you tripped on,’ according to the court documents.
The childcare centre also claimed any injury that Mrs Nkamba sustained was only minor muscle strain which resolved in weeks and did not ‘constitute compensable loss and damage’.
Judge Sandy Horneman-Wren ruled the childcare centre was ‘negligent’ as staff failed to ensure the shed was properly packed and blocks were not left on the floor (STOCK IMAGE)
Judge Horneman-Wren said he was ‘satisfied’ by evidence showing the childcare was negligent after staff failed to ensure the shed was properly packed and blocks were not left on the floor.
‘An undetected [Lego] block was on the floor of the shed,’ Judge Horneman-Wren ruled.
‘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.’
‘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.’
Both Ms Nkamba and Queensland Childcare Service Pty Ltd are required to file submissions of costs by January 31, 2023.
Source: Read Full Article