A council employee who broke her arm and injured her leg while working from home when she tripped over her puppy’s fence has won a workers’ compensation claim.
Lauren Vercoe, an asset programmer at the City of Adelaide Charles Sturt Council, was working from home on September 19, 2022, when the accident occurred.
Vercoe had placed a 2-foot metal pet fence at the entrance to his sunroom, which he used as a home office.
The fence was erected to keep a colleague’s puppy, whom she was caring for, away from her pet rabbit.
Mrs Vercoe started work around 8.30am and got up to make coffee about an hour later.
But as he stepped over the fence, one of his feet caught it, causing him to lose his balance.
He tried to break his fall, but failed and landed with all his weight on his right knee and right side, experiencing “instant and extreme pain.”
Her husband called an ambulance and she was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where she was treated for a broken arm, a suspected shoulder dislocation and pain in her right knee before being discharged later that day.
Lauren Vercoe (pictured), an employee of Charles Sturt City Council in Adelaide for the past 12 years, was working from home on September 19, 2022, when the incident occurred.
His initial claim for compensation against the Local Government Association Workers’ Compensation Scheme was rejected in October 2022.
But in a ruling handed down by the South Australian Employment Tribunal on October 18, Ms Vercoe’s injury was found to be due to her employment.
Assistant Vice President Magistrate Jodie Carrel determined that the fall occurred during an “authorized coffee break at her workplace.”
“This is something Ms Vercoe says she would have done if she had been working in the office at around the same time, as she had not set up times for short breaks during the course of her work day,” Justice Carrel said.
The decision noted that it did not matter that Ms. Vercoe had erected the pet fence without notifying her employer.
“The fact that Ms. Vercoe created the danger in the workplace the day before, and without the Council’s knowledge, does not prevent us from determining that this is an employment-related cause,” said Judge Carrel.
The sentencing agreed with Ms Vercoe’s claim that she “fell during a paid break” and that her “injuries arose during or during her employment”.
“Ms Vercoe stated that it did not matter whether the council had provided the pet fence, whether it knew about the pet fence or whether it had told Ms Vercoe to build it,” the ruling states.
‘There is simply nothing that limits the application of the workers’ compensation system to an injury that occurs due to a characteristic of the workplace not known or authorized by the employer. ‘
Vercoe’s husband called an ambulance and she was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where she was treated for a broken arm, a suspected shoulder dislocation and pain in her right knee before being discharged later that day.
Two years before her accident, Vercoe changed her cover photo to an image of a young woman with angel wings accompanied by a quote from poet Erin Hanson (pictured).
In her testimony, Ms Vercoe also shared screenshots of a council video on flexible working arrangements that encouraged employees to “take regular breaks, “get out in the sunshine” and “enjoy time with the dog”.
Magistrate Carrel also criticized the law firm that initially rejected Ms Vercoe’s compensation claim for suggesting she “exaggerated her evidence when it suited her”.
“Rather, Ms. Vercoe is a hard worker who has done everything she can to keep going after suffering a significant injury,” Judge Carrel said.
Vercoe returned to work after six weeks.
The amount of compensation owed will be decided later.
Two years before her accident, Vercoe changed her social media profile to a photo of a young woman with angel wings accompanied by a quote from poet Erin Hanson.
‘What happens if I fall? Oh, but darling, what if you fly?’ says the title.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Vercoe for comment.