Slipping Accidents - The Burden: Strong v Woolworths

Strong v Woolworths [2011] HCA5: Decision – 7 March 2012

Background

The appellant, Mrs Strong, suffered a serious spinal injury when she slipped and fell at the Centro Taree Shopping Centre on 24 September 2004. Mrs Strong was an amputee and walked with the aid of crutches.

She claimed that while she was in the sidewalk sales area, one of her crutches slipped on a chip which was lying on the floor. The area was under the care and control of Woolworths.

The litigation that has ensued focuses on the familiar difficulty in "slipping cases" of establishing a causal connection between the absence of an adequate cleaning system and the plaintiff's injury, when it is not known when the slippery substance was deposited.