She did not slip on anything – verdict for cleaner in slip and fall claim

Often in slip and fall cases, claimants allege they must have slipped on a spillage, relying on nothing more than the fact they have slipped.

In Kalache v Secureclean Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2019] NSWDC 717, the New South Wales District Court confirmed that claimants have an onus to prove more than supposition.

Facts

The claimant was shopping at the Stockland Wetherill Park Shopping Mall, where she fell and fractured her ankle. She alleged that she slipped on a spillage and that the cleaning contractor would have detected it if they had complied with a reasonable system of cleaning and inspection.

The focus of the case was not the standard of the cleaning system but, more fundamentally, the reason for the fall. Judge Neilson's assessment of the evidence on this issue serves as a useful checklist for retailers, cleaning contractors and other defendants in defending slip and fall claims where there may not have been a spillage to detect.