Box Hill Institute of TAFE v Johnson

[2015] VSCA 245

Victorian Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Negligence
2. › Employer's duty of care
3. › Psychiatric injury
4. › Workplace relationship conflict
5. › Foreseeability of risk of psychiatric injury from supervisor-employee conflict
6. › Whether employer's failure to intervene in conflict constituted breach of duty
7. › Whether reasonable response required mediation and counselling
1. Negligence
2. › Causation
3. › Psychiatric injury
4. › Pre-existing vulnerability
5. › Whether employer's breach was a cause of employee's breakdown
6. › Whether counselling of supervisor would have prevented the precipitating incident
1. Negligence
2. › Damages
3. › Assessment of pecuniary loss
4. › Discount for pre-existing condition
5. › Malec v JC Hutton principles
6. › Whether 80 percent discount manifestly excessive or inadequate
1. Appeal
2. › Standard of appellate review
3. › Findings of fact
4. › Inferences from established facts
5. › Advantages of trial judge in assessing witnesses
6. › Whether appellate court should disturb trial judge's factual findings

Quick Take

An employer who receives medical certificates indicating that an employee's depression is being aggravated by the employee's relationship with a supervisor is on notice of a foreseeable risk of psychiatric injury, and a reasonable employer must take active steps — such as mediation and counselling — to address the underlying relationship difficulties, rather than doing nothing. The failure to take such steps constitutes a breach of the employer's duty of care. An 80% discount to pecuniary loss damages may be appropriate where the employee's pre-existing psychological fragility means the same condition would likely have manifested within two years regardless of the breach.