The High Court has ordered an employer to preserve evidence relating to a worker’s alleged workplace fall, ahead of any personal injury proceedings. It granted the application in part, narrowing the request for cleaning records to those concerning the ladder and its immediate surroundings.
Muhammad Tayyad alleges he fell on 7 January 2019 while climbing a ladder or climbing structure at his employer’s premises and lowering a hosepipe to ground level. He says he lost his footing and suffered injuries. An application made on his behalf to the Injuries Board described the accident as a trip on a wet surface while ascending a workplace ladder.
Tayyad sought an order under section 12 of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 requiring Rilta Environmental Limited to preserve an incident report, CCTV footage of the incident and cleaning rosters for the premises for 6 to 8 January 2019. His solicitor had sent three unanswered letters seeking preservation. After the court application was brought, the company’s solicitors said CCTV footage was not available. Rilta did not file a responding affidavit.
The court found the application was made in good faith for the purpose of ensuring the fair and just disposition of any proceedings that might follow. It also found no identified prejudice to the Injuries Board process. The judge said the items could be relevant evidence, while emphasising that the statutory power is restrictive and the requested material must be relevant, necessary and proportionate.
The court ordered Rilta to preserve any incident report compiled in relation to the injuries and any CCTV footage of the incident. The judge noted that if no footage exists, there is nothing to preserve. For cleaning records, the court rejected the request for rosters covering the entire premises over three days as unnecessarily broad. It instead ordered preservation of rosters relating to the ladder or climbing structure, the area immediately around it and the room where it was located, for the period requested.
The ruling concerns preservation of evidence before proceedings. It does not determine liability for the alleged accident or whether personal injury proceedings will be issued. The parties were given liberty to apply.