FIFO worker assaulted in fight at work drinks event wins compensation case
A fly-in, fly-out worker who was assaulted during after-work drinks has won his bid for workers compensation.
The Federal Court of Australia awarded Edward Westrupp workers compensation after he was choked and punched outside a tavern on a remote WA worksite.
In a judgement published on Monday, the court found that because all employees were bound by a Code of Behaviour while in a "company town", they were considered employed whenever they were on site.
Mr Westrupp, 62, was working for BIS Industries as a contractor for BHP Billiton in 2014 when he was injured.
The silo operator lived in Leinster, a remote outback mining town north of Kalgoorlie that is owned by BHP Billiton.
The New Zealand man was halfway through a two-week roster when he went to the wet mess known colloquially as "the tavern".
While at the tavern he hugged a female friend who was leaving the town.
This angered another man who followed Mr Westrupp after he walked outside.
The man started to choke Mr Westrupp and threw punches at his head.
Both men fell to the ground during the incident and Mr Westrupp's shoulder was injured.
He subsequently applied for workers compensation.
The three-judge panel overturned a previous decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which had found the worker was not injured while at work.
The panel found Mr Westrupp was based on a remote site where it was difficult to leave.
Further, they found he was in the wet mess in a town established purely for the mine site.
Given that both employees were bound by an employee Code of Behaviour when on the site, they were effectively covered by workers compensation.