Mother Hit By Falling Boat Sues Council
Central Coast Herald
Friday September 12, 2003
A DISTRICT Court hearing continued yesterday into whether alleged negligence by Wyong Shire Council led to a boat falling on top of a mother of five, leaving her with an alleged serious back problems.
Claudia Attalah, 34, of Harden, is suing the council for up to $750,000 following a January 14, 1996, accident at Gwandalan Reserve.
Mrs Attalah alleged she took her teenage niece and baby son to the reserve on the shores of Lake Macquarie for a picnic while on holidays following the christening of her son Abraham.
The trio sheltered from the summer heat under a shady tree on which an aluminium boat had been propped.
The hearing, before Acting Judge Helen Gamble, has been told a strong gust of wind blew the boat on top of Mrs Attalah, allegedly causing permanent back problems.
Mrs Attalah took legal action against the council, alleging it failed to ensure public safety by allowing residents to leave their boats in unsafe positions at the reserve.
At an earlier hearing, Peter Cummings, for the council, told the court Mrs Attalah had seen a number of doctors and medical specialists since the accident and given conflicting reports about whether she was standing up when she was hit and whether the boat struck her in the shoulder or back.
Mrs Attalah had said she may have failed to tell some doctors the boat hit her shoulder as her back was the source of the pain for which she was seeking treatment.
© 2003 Central Coast Herald