Transit officer could get $1m after punch
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday September 4, 2009
AT A refresher course for State Rail security employees in 2003, participants were dressed in padded suits and told to "go for it" while sparring with each other on judo mats.The exercise involved training to resist violent assault. But an acting chief transit officer, Peter Russell, was injured when his sparring partner landed a punch on his shoulder €“ and could be awarded more than $1 million in compensation.Mr Russell, 52, sued the Department of Corrective Services, which ran the course, and the State Rail Authority over the incident at Windsor in November 2003.A District Court judge, Michael Elkaim, yesterday found the defendants were negligent, saying the exercise involved "obvious danger". He indicated he would award Mr Russell damages of $1,061,612, although the figure has yet to be finalised.Mr Russell gave evidence that before the course, other officers had spoken about participants suffering sprains and bruises. Women on his course developed black eyes some days after the exercise, he said. He suffered nerve damage and chronic pain in his shoulder, requiring continuing treatment and leading to depression, the court heard.Mr Russell had led a team of officers who dealt with fare evasion, safety and misbehaving passengers, but his duties were restricted after his injury. His job was terminated on medical grounds in 2006.Judge Elkaim heard that those taking part in the training were given no instructions about which parts of the body to avoid, the degree of force to be used or signals to stop in an emergency. Conduct of the course involved "an unreasonable degree of ignorance of the risks involved" and State Rail should have ensured any course for its employees that involved physical activity was run safely, he said.The final amount of damages with workers' compensation to be taken into account will be calculated today. Yet Judge Elkaim said he intended to award Mr Russell $671,555 in damages from Corrective Services and $390,057 from State Rail.Mr Russell welcomed the decision yesterday, saying it was a shame the injury had ended his career hopes.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald