The onerous role of being an occupier

In brief - Court of Appeal upholds finding that occupier of commercial premises failed to exercise reasonable care for users' safety

The decision in Raad v VM & KTP Holdings as trustee for VM & KTP Nguyen Family Trust [2017] NSWCA 190 is a strong reminder for occupiers of their duty to provide and maintain safe premises for all users.

In this case, the appellant, Mr Raad, appealed against the damages he was awarded by the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the finding by Davies J that he was 10% contributorily negligent. Mr Raad also asserted that Davies J erred in finding that his pre-existing Scheuermann's disease and narcotic drug dependency was not aggravated by the incident.