(Courtesy of the ABC)

Paul Clarke was on his way to a a popular fishing spot when the accident happened.
In order to stay awake, it was "common practice" for workers to go fishing at night
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Paul Clarke was heading towards one of the Northern Territory's top fishing spots when his mini-van skidded off the road in the dark and smashed into trees.

The 2005 accident, which happened during the diesel fitter's 24-hour shift break from the Ranger Uranium Mine, left him with a broken leg and hip.

The question was: was Mr Clarke's midnight expedition to the crocodile-infested waters of the East Alligator River a work-related trip, or simply a recreational journey?

Today, the Northern Territory Court of Appeal found that Mr Clarke's fishing trip was indeed work-related and he should continue to receive workers' compensation.

The mine's owner, ERA, instructed workers to stay awake late into the night if they were switching from a day shift one day to a night shift the next so that their bodies could better adjust.

In order to stay awake, it was "common practice" for workers to go fishing at night, even though ERA did not explicitly tell them to undertake such activities.

In the case of Mr Clarke, his supervisor invited him to go fishing after his day shift had ended at 6pm.

Mr Clarke agreed, and the pair, along with another worker, set off after midnight towards Cahill's Crossing on the East Alligator River - a popular fishing spot, known also for its large crocodiles.

They took off in a work mini-van, with the supervisor at the wheel.

"The worker was injured when [the supervisor] lost control of the vehicle and it ran off the road and collided with some trees near Magella Creek," today's judgement said.

But Mr Clarke's battle to win compensation has taken several years.

His first attempt failed when the Work Health Court found that his injuries did not happen as a result of his employer's direction for staff to stay awake late into the night.

However, he successfully appealed to the Supreme Court, which found that there was a direct link between ERA's direction and his action of going fishing late at night.

It ordered his employer, Waylexson Pty Ltd, which had subcontracted him to ERA, to pay weekly compensation.

Waylexson challenged that decision, but the Appeal Court today dismissed it, ruling that the Supreme Court's verdict that the fishing trip accident warranted workers' compensation was correct.

"Whilst ERA may not have been aware of this particular fishing excursion it was aware of the general practice and, by its acceptance of that practice, induced or encouraged workers to engage in such excursions during shift changes," its judgement said.

Tags: mining, road-accidents, courts-and-trials, australia, nt, darwin-0800, jabiru-0886

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