A ruling by the NSW Supreme Court will cast a shadow over Friday night drinks and other after-work celebrations for many workers’ compensation insurers, according to Sydney lawyer Louise Edmondson.

The ruling involved a labourer who was seriously injured during an after-work drinking session. The labourer, Michael Kortegast, was left paraplegic after climbing on to and falling three metres from a second-storey extension he had been renovating.

Although Mr Kortegast’s claim for compensation is yet to be heard, acting Judge Mathews was called on to settle a preliminary dispute about whether the employer’s workers’ compensation insurer or the building owner’s public liability insurer was potentially liable. 

The judge concluded that the injuries were sustained “in the course of his employment” and that the appropriate insurer was the employer’s workers’ compensation insurer.

Ms Edmondson, a senior associate with law firm Hunt & Hunt, said acting Judge Mathews found that a definition of when the man had finished work was largely irrelevant, as was the identity of who purchased the beer.

“The employer said it was ‘normal’ for workers to remain on-site after work on Friday and ‘enjoy a beer’,” Ms Edmondson said.

She said the judge found that the employer had “actively participated” in the evening’s activity, implicitly encouraging Mr Kortegast to take part. As a result, the judge found the victim was at work when the injury occurred.

Ms Edmondson says this decision makes it clear in what situations liability ultimately rests with the workers’ compensation insurer as opposed to the public liability insurer. “If the injuries had occurred in an area of the house that was not being renovated, the liability may well have rested with the public liability insurer,” she said.