The importance of incident reporting for injury claims

When the Defendant's Witnesses have no good reason to remember – the Importance of Incident Reporting

Hutchison Construction Services Pty Ltd v Fogg; Fogg v Les Quatre Musketeers Pty Ltd (t/as Plastamasta South Coast [2016] NSWCA 135

Key Points

• Absent clear contemporaneous evidence, or a "dramatic event", a plaintiff's evidence about an event will almost always be accepted over others because they have the best reason to remember it.
• Following on from Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd v Fox ¹, courts will look closely at the specific actions and responsibilities of contractors on construction sites and will not necessarily 'spread the love'.
• Once a contractor directs another contractor to perform even a basic task, they have a duty to ensure that the method for doing it is reasonably safe.