Compo rejected by court for woman who hurt hip after ‘excessive socialising’

27 May 2020

A woman has failed a second time in her bid for compensation from Telstra after slipping and falling after a night of champagne, wine and cocktails on a work trip.

Danielle Dring, a senior project manager with Telstra, was attending IT workshops in April 2016. She and a friend shared a bottle of champagne in her Melbourne hotel room, followed by a bottle of wine over dinner and then went out to a cocktail bar.

Ms Dring returned to her hotel about 2.30am and slipped on wet tiles, injuring her hip.

She applied for compensation from Telstra, arguing she had been injured at work, but the company refused.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal supported that refusal in 2017 and a second appeal has now been rejected by the Federal Court.

The court found there was no connection between the fall and her work.

Judge John Snaden said, “Ms Dring was, of course, perfectly entitled to spend her evening in the way that she did.” But he said because the injury had happened after “extensive socialising” when she was expected to attend a work conference in the morning, the injury “lacked a connection with her employment”.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

This article has been prepared by Maddy Walter, Marketing. The information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. You should speak with Rosa Raco directly about your specific circumstances via email rraco@wrlaw.com.au or phone 03 54996131.