Students must provide a memo of advice and use the IRAC model to formulate legally convincing arguments to a problem-based question.

Script: Client interview Conducted March 2021

Lawyer: Hello. Please come in. Take a seat and make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink - a tea, coffee?

Client: Thank you I am fine for now.[The client has her right arm in a cast and sling. She is also using crutches.

Lawyer: Well, I see you have been involved in a mishap. I presume that is why you have come to see us.

Client: Yes. It happened last week and I had to go to hospital for treatment.

Lawyer: Just before we begin, I need to get your name, address and contact number.

Client: Rene Redfern.555 Oak Street, Green Valley. Mobile 0999 345 435.

Lawyer: Thank you for that. Now,Tellme what happened. I'll only interruptto clarify, if necessary. OK?

Client: Yes, of course.

Lawyer: Well, let's start at the beginning - and I'll take notes as we go along.

Client: Well, I work at a local fruit shop called "Fresh is Best" and part of my job is to take boxes and crates filled with vegetables off the delivery truck and to put them outsidea storage room.

My employer, Jack, who is the sole proprietor of the fruit shop, also provides special shoes for all employees and we are required to put them on because they have special soles which prevent slipping. Sometimes there are leaves and peels which cover the ground where we work and from time to time, the owner hoses them downto protect the workers while they carry the crates from the truck to the storage room.

Lawyer: and you slipped during the process?

Client: Well, it wasn't as simple as that. You see, on that day - and I don't know why - but the crates had been overloaded. They contained more than the usual weight prescribed for them. I didn't know this. I was also running late. I didn't have time to change shoes and kept my own shoes on. I was going to change into the ones we needed to wear on our coffee break.

Anyway, I picked up one of the crates and that's when I noticed that it was heavier than usual. It nearly slipped out of my hands but I managed to keep ahold ofitby letting my right arm take the weight to avoid the crate falling. My right arm was hit by a sharp corner of the crate a number of times as I tried to balance the crate to stop it from falling. I felt a sharp pain in my right arm but I didn't think any more of it and carried the cratetowardsthe storage roomarea.

It was only after I was taken to hospital after the fall in the storage room that I was told I had broken my arm in a few places.

Lawyer:Did you have to take the crates into the storage room?

Client: Well, that's where it gets a little sticky.

Lawyer: What do you mean?

Client: Well, there was a notice to one side of the roller door which said: Workers:'Leave crates outside storage room. Do not enter'. And the owner had mentioned that he wantedto doallthe stacking of the crates in the storage room.

Lawyer: And what happened next?

Client: Well, I thought I was doing my employer afavor- because on that particular day, the roller door to the storage room was open. And I thought I would help him out by taking the crate I was carrying into the storage room. I didn't notice that some vegetable leaves had fallen on the groundin the storage roomand as I entered, I slipped on the leaves. I dropped the crate I was carryingand stumbled over it. The strange thing about it is that the storage room floor is always clean. Never saw any leaves or peels on the floor - ever - all the time I have worked there - except for that day.

My right legtook a hitfrom the heavy crate which fell on my leg and broke it.I called the ambulance with my mobile phone and later on my mate Jeff heard me and sat with me until the ambulance arrived.

Lawyer: And the prognosis?

Client: I won't be able to work for six months and I need to attend hospital after the casts come off, for rehabilitation.

I have also been told I will not be able to lift heavy items again and that I will never have the same strength in either my arm or leg again. Whatever I do, it will have to involve light duties. That means a substantial fall in wages and I don't know what to do or what I'm entitled to.

There are hospital fees, doctor's fees, loss of wages and a permanent fall in the amount I can earn.

I just don't know where I stand regarding all this.

Lawyer: That's why we are here. We have someone in the office who is an expert in the field and they will be in touch with you soon to advise you of your legal position. Leave it with us. We will be in touch soon.

"Rene said that she was not completely honest with us in her first interview regarding her broken arm. She instructed that after she slipped and fell in the storage room, a new work colleague that she had never met before, Simon, rushed to her aid. Rene told Simon that her arm and leg hurt but she wanted to try and stand. Simon reached for her hand and that's when she heard her arm go "crack". Simon immediately let her arm go and she felt terrible. Rene says that the broken leg was definitely related to the fall but if she is being completely honest, it was probably Simon helping her up that caused the already weak arm to break. Rene wants some advice regarding this additional information."