Question

Lawrence is 35 years old. He is employed at the packaging warehouse of Plenty-Stocks Pty Ltd, a successful online retailer. Lawrence was injured on his back in 2020 when he was lifting a heavy box to load onto a delivery truck for dispatch. He had to go through spinal surgery and was off work recuperating for nine months. He was fully compensated for his injury and returned to work in 2021. Plenty-Stocks was aware of the injury and the operation.

Towards the end of 2021, Lawrence began to complain that his back was getting sore again. He was instructed by Plenty-Stocks not to lift heavy things and to be careful. Plenty-Stocks went ahead and provided a hydraulic lifting machine to assist him to carry out his job. After a few weeks Lawrence stopped using the machine because he thought it was slowing him down. He continued to lift and load the boxes by himself.

In March 2022 online sales drastically increased and Lawrence had significantly more boxes to lift and load onto delivery trucks. He injured his back again and once again had to go through surgery. The nature of his back injury has left him unable to lift anything heavy and he is now unable to work again in the packaging industry.

REQUIRED:

With reference to relevant legal principles use the IRAC legal problem-solving approach to advise Lawrence as to whether he would be successful in a negligence claim against Plenty-Stocks. Please explain fully, using relevant legal authority.