A Member university received a liability claim in June 2007 for an injury sustained by a delivery driver on its campus in June 2006. The claim was finally settled on the court steps for a significant sum in August 2011.

The circumstances of the injury were that the driver and his assistant were delivering cartons of canned soft drink to the loading dock of a building on the campus. The loading dock itself was not available to accept the delivery, by virtue of both the size of the delivery truck and the fact that a large rubbish bin was located there. Instead, the cartons of soft drink were loaded onto a trolley, which was then pulled up a set of steps to the side of the loading dock. The driver had previously delivered to the loading dock, and was familiar with the layout. On the day in question, he was apparently engaged in a heated disagreement with his assistant, as a result of which he did not pay proper attention when he reached the top of the steps. In swinging his trolley so that he could walk forwards, having hauled it up the steps backwards, he stepped off the edge of the loading dock and fell 76cm onto the concrete floor. The cartons of soft drink then fell onto the driver’s legs.