Dunny-dos and dunny-don’ts: TT Line court case

TT LINE is fighting a complainant in the Federal Court who alleges a fall in a Spirit of Tasmania toilet left him with permanent and continuing disabilities.

The ABC has reported the man is claiming that TT-Line was negligent by not installing a suitable handrail within reach of the toilet and not displaying a sign on the safe use of the toilet when the ship was at sea.

In a statement of claim filed to the Federal Court, the plaintiff alleged that in December 2022, when he was 68, he was standing up using the ensuite toilet in a Spirit of Tasmania I cabin during a Bass Strait crossing when the ship experienced a "sudden drop".

He claimed that there was no handhold adjacent to the toilet, and the towel racks and vanity within reach "appeared insufficiently strong and unsuitable to be used as handrails", the ABC reported.

He has sought damages from the ferry operator due to having "required and received medical and hospital treatment".

Court documents stated the man had "a reduced capacity to work and has suffered economic loss and will in the future suffer economic loss" and "in the past required voluntary domestic, nursing and other services and will in the future continue to require such services on a commercial basis".

The man stated he also "suffered disappointment and distress … and a subsequent ruined holiday in Tasmania" and "suffered a diminution in value of the quality of carriage that he experienced compared to the cost of the carriage that he purchased".

The case has seen the man attract considerable derision on social media, and even TT Line’s own lawyers claimed he “should simply have sat on the toilet”.

In its statement of defence TT-Line said that the bathroom sink next to the toilet was made of stone and would have been a sufficient handhold. It said the towel racks were also sufficient.

The company also argued that when booking the tickets, the plaintiff could have indicated he had specific needs or required assistance, which would have allowed TT-Line to allocate him an accessible cabin.

TT-Line also disputed that the ship dropped suddenly at the time of the accident (approximately 0200), stating that the ship experienced winds equivalent to a "moderate breeze" that caused "small waves". It said the ship's crew did not receive reports from other passengers of a "sudden drop" at the time.

TT-Line has denied any liability. The case will return to court in November.