Background
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of NSW has awarded damages of $380,640 in finding that Hornsby Shire Council’s (Council) was negligent when a resident fell into an unfenced culvert on a public road and suffered substantial injuries.
In 2011, the Plaintiff, Mr Oberlechner was walking his dogs at night on a poorly lit suburban street in the Council’s LGA when he stepped into what appeared to him to be bushes or overgrown weeds. He stepped into what was in fact actually an unfenced culvert and fell three meters into the drain below. As a result of the accident, the Plaintiff suffered various injuries including the exacerbation of a long-standing psychiatric illness which was pre-existing prior to the accident. [...]
