Melbourne teacher Derva Josic sues Noble Park English Language School after playing basketball in heels during staff retreat
A teacher has taken legal action against her school after she was injured while playing basketball in high heels.
Derva Josic, a teacher at Melbourne’s Noble Park English Language School, is suing the Department of Education for negligence after she claims she was allowed to wear heeled boots instead of trainers during a staff retreat.
She also claimed she wasn’t told she didn’t have to make jump shots.
The Herald Sun reported Ms Josic brought legal action against her employer in the Victorian District Court through WorkSafe.
The incident occurred during a professional development session in 2017.
Ms Josic alleged that her employer failed to tell her to wear athletic shoes, failed to advise her to remove her regular shoes before playing basketball and failed to explain to her how to safely score a basket wearing non-athletic shoes.
She also claimed she was not told not to jump when she shot.
Ms Josic was injured after landing awkwardly on her right foot and spraining her ankle after shooting at the basket.
A teacher is suing the Department of Education for negligence after it allowed her to wear heeled boots instead of sneakers during a staff retreat (stock image)
The Department of Education objected to expert evidence from forensic engineer Bill Contoyannis (pictured)
She is also entitled to compensation for an occupational accident under WorkSafe legislation.
A five- to seven-day jury trial is scheduled to begin on July 24.
The Department of Education objected to the expert evidence of forensic engineer Bill Contoyannis.
In his online biography, Mr. Contoyannis is described as a certified mechanical and biomedical engineer and ergonomist.
Mr. Contoyannis has testified as an expert in a number of legal cases.
Judge Aine Magee concluded that Mr Contoyannis’s two reports were inadmissible because his opinions were not based on his specialist knowledge.
Ms Josic has launched legal proceedings in the Victoria District Court (pictured) against the Department of Education after she was injured while playing basketball at a staff retreat.
She ruled that Mr Contoyannis’s views “were in the realm of speculation about the circumstances of the incident”.
She said evidence for the “power of landing in shoes” should be based on testing, not just opinion.
“Mr Contoyannis did not conduct any tests other than measuring the heel height of the boots worn by the plaintiff in 2017,” Judge Magee said.
She also refused to accept Mr Contoyannis’s view that the risk of injury would have been significantly reduced by wearing trainers, saying this was a “simple observation”.
“There is insufficient evidence to establish that Mr Contoyannis possesses specific skills, knowledge or expertise which would enable him to make an expert judgement in relation to sports footwear,” Judge Magee said.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘Schools are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of students and staff during all activities that form part of teaching and learning programmes.’