WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO WARN PEOPLE?

A man who became paraplegic after diving off a bridge when he was 14 has been awarded more than $1 million because a warning sign did not make the risk "obvious" to a child. Phillip James Dederer, now 20, said he saw the sign but, as a "cocky 14-year-old", he ignored it. The risk was "part of the thrill", he said.

Mr Dederer successfully sued the Roads and Traffic Authority and the Great Lakes Council in the NSW Supreme Court after he suffered extensive spinal damage when he dived off the Forster/Tuncurry Bridge on New Year's Eve in 1998.

The Great Lakes Mayor, John Chadban, said the judgement had implications for all signs in public areas. "It always makes you feel greatly concerned about your operations and all the responsibility that may exist for litigation." In 2002 there were changes to legislation, aimed at stemming litigation by individuals who had behaved recklessly.

Justice John Dunford said yesterday that while he accepted Mr Dederer had engaged in a "dangerous recreational activity", a 14-year-old, unlike an adult, could not have been aware of the risk of serious permanent injury.

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