Smith v Visy Pulp and Paper Pty Ltd

[2026] NSWSC 685

Supreme Court of NSW

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. NEGLIGENCE — personal injury — workplace injury — where plaintiff was an employee of a contractor of occupier — plaintiff’s head collided with a metal pipe that was installed at head height causing injury — whether employer and/or occupier owed plaintiff a duty of care — defendants held to be equally liable — plaintiff held to be contributorily negligent

Quick Take

The Court held that both the occupier (Visy) and the plaintiff's employer (DME) were equally liable for the plaintiff's injury caused by striking his head on a metal pipe elbow protruding at head height into a walkway at a paper mill. Visy's duty of care as occupier was found to be co-extensive with DME's non-delegable employer duty, notwithstanding Visy's contractual delegation of mechanical maintenance to DME, because Visy retained ultimate control over the premises, its infrastructure configuration, and the vetting of all work orders. The plaintiff was found 20% contributorily negligent for failing to look up despite his familiarity with the area, but the Court accepted that his attention was reasonably diverted by trip hazards and an unfamiliar route on the day of the accident.