Australia: Man who stuck finger in light socket awarded $30,000

How on earth did the judges figure that the club was liable for this?

A COURT decision to award a NSW man more than $30,000 for sticking his finger in a light socket has been criticised as an embarrassing reward for his own stupidity. Bryan Jones sued Dapto Leagues Club in the Wollongong District Court after the incident while he was playing pool in 2002, which his doctors claimed left him with post traumatic stress disorder.

After the original hearing, 63-year-old Mr Jones was awarded $700. Yesterday that figure was increased in the NSW Court of Appeal to $30,652, plus costs. The court found he had accidentally put his fingers into the light bulb socket, despite admitting to joking just half an hour earlier that he was going to do it. In making the new order for damages, Justice Keith Mason said the shock which burnt Mr Jones' middle finger and knocked him unconscious could not have been forseen. "He was aware the power had been turned off but no one in his group realised that someone, probably a club employee, reconnected the power shortly afterwards," Mr Mason said.

Clubs NSW spokesman Jeremy Bath yesterday said the decision had dealt a harsh financial blow to the club. "The trend of courts rewarding stupidity is one that sadly appears to be on the increase," he told The Daily Telegraph. "It's hard to believe a grown man could be rewarded for sticking his finger in a light bulb socket. Clubs are sick and tired of being instructed to write cheques to victims of stupidity when they would otherwise be donating the money to sporting teams and charities. "The people of Dapto have every right to be baffled by the court ruling, which has short-changed them $30,000."

In their decision, Justice Mason, supported by Justices Margaret Beazley and Virginia Bell said the injuries sustained by Mr Jones warranted $22,000 in damages. They also awarded him $8652 for future and past out of pocket expenses, as well as costs. Mr Jones was not in court for the decision and his solicitor said she had been unable to contact him to tell him of the windfall. Mr Jones suffered "dizziness, headaches, bad dreams, flashbacks and an impending sense of death" after the accident, the court heard.

Report here



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