A truck driver and labourer has successfully sued his "hostile" and bankrupt uncle for more than $500,000 after a crane knocked him off the back of a truck and caused him "very nasty" injuries.
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In the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice David Mossop ordered that scrap metal merchant William Martin pay his nephew Donovan Hall $532,365 in damages.
Justice Mossop's judgment reveals that Mr Martin, who operated a yard in Fyshwick, employed Mr Hall on a cash-in-hand basis about two weeks prior to the incident and did not have workers compensation insurance.
Mr Hall said he and another employee, Paul McDonald, were tasked in January 2016 with making a delivery to Mr Martin's farm in Tarago, near Goulburn.
At the farm, Mr Hall was standing on the back of a truck when the beam of a crane operated by Mr McDonald hit him in the face.
The blow knocked him to the ground, shattering his left kneecap.
During a hearing in July, he told the court Mr Martin was aware of the incident moments after it happened.
He said that when he later went to the scrap metal yard on crutches and raised the possibility of legal action, Mr Martin told him: "You won't get nothing out of me".
Since the incident, Mr Hall said, he had been unable to keep a job because of the pain in his knee.
Mr Martin denied in court that he had ever employed Mr Hall or Mr McDonald.
Despite this, he could not recall the name of a single employee from the 2015-16 financial year.
He also declared that Mr Hall had never even been to the Tarago farm, and said of the civil claim: "This is a blackmail on me because I might have a few quid for them to get and tell lies about. That's what it's all about."
The court heard that despite Mr Martin having operated the scrap metal yard, he had been continuously bankrupt since 1999.
Mr Martin's son, Dean, who lives at the Tarago farm, told the court he was adamant that he was at the property on the day in question and that Mr Hall was not.
"He's a liar. He is a liar," Dean Martin said at the hearing.
"He is Donovan and I don't even know the gentleman's last name.
"But the fellow who is putting my family through this is a liar."
The court also heard from Donald Newman, who worked for Mr Martin and gave evidence of the scrap metal merchant's practice of paying workers cash-in-hand.
Justice Mossop ultimately found that Mr Martin had employed Mr Hall and Mr McDonald, and that the crane accident had occurred as stated by Mr Hall.
He found Mr Hall to be a reasonably credible witness, and described Mr Martin as "argumentative" and "clearly hostile".
"[Mr Martin's] approach to the proceedings overall appeared to be inconsistent with what one would have expected from an honest businessman who was uninsured at a relevant time," the judge said.
"... He demonstrated a willingness to tailor his evidence in a way that would advance what he perceived to be his interests in the proceedings."
Justice Mossop said Mr McDonald had been negligent in his operation of the crane at the farm, and Mr Martin as his employer was "vicariously liable".
The judge described the fractured patella suffered by Mr Hall as "very nasty", and said there was a significant possibility he may require a total knee replacement.
In determining the payout, Justice Mossop considered evidence from two doctors, both of whom said Mr Hall now had "significant incapacity for work".
He eventually settled on the total figure, which is comprised of eight elements including $95,812 for past economic loss and $237,240 for future wage loss.
