Sharon’s story
Sharon was a retail manager whose life revolved around two things: her work and her granddaughters. It was a life of routine and responsibility, of managing a retail store during the day and cherishing time with family in the evenings. Sharon was the kind of person who stayed busy, who took care of things herself, who didn’t sit still.
That independence and self-reliance would make what happened next—and the recovery that followed—particularly difficult.
Everything changed after an incident on common property at her strata complex in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, in an area residents had complained about for years.
A preventable fall
Sharon had just finished work and returned to her unit complex.
“The incident happened on common property. I had just finished work and parked my car and was walking up the stairs to the glass door to the entry of my building when I tripped over the tiles,” she recalls.
Residents had raised concerns about the condition of the tiles over time.
“The conditions of the tiles were in disrepair as they got worse over time, and my foot just got caught in the hole that was there, and the two shopping bags I was carrying went flying, and I tried to save myself but landed heavily on my left shoulder.”
The fall was violent. Despite her attempts to catch herself, the weight of her body came down hard on her left shoulder.
Realising the damage
The first night after the fall made Sharon realise the injury was more serious than she had initially thought.
“I realised the severity of my injury when I couldn’t sleep that night, and I could not move my arm the next morning.”
The timing added another layer of difficulty, with the incident occurring over the Christmas period.
“I immediately called the doctor on Saturday morning, but as it was Christmas, and everything was closed, I had to wait a couple of days to have an X-ray. I just kept my arm by my side until I had the X-ray.”
The scans revealed a torn left rotator cuff, as well as injuries to her neck and right knee. The shoulder injury proved particularly debilitating, eventually requiring surgery and leaving Sharon with ongoing limitations.
Life disrupted
For someone as active and independent as Sharon, the impact of the injuries was profound and distressing.
“My daily activities were very limited. My work life was very limited due to the movement of my arm. My family responsibilities were thrown into chaos.”
The emotional toll was significant.
“My mental and emotional wellbeing were tested as I am so used to doing everything, and to not do anything actually was upsetting and it really had an effect on me, as I’m not the kind of person to just sit around and do nothing.”
The practical challenges were equally difficult.
“The challenges that I faced was doing my job and all my personal care. I had to get my boss to do most of my work, and I had to get my daughter to help me with all my personal care, which was very distressing for me.”
For someone who had always been self-sufficient, having to rely on others for personal care represented a loss of dignity and independence that went beyond the physical pain.
“The most challenging aspects of this whole journey were how much I needed to rely on other people to do things for me, which was the hardest thing for me to do.”
Financially, Sharon managed with support.
“My financial situation was ok as my family helped support me and I got paid part-time from work.”
But this meant she couldn’t afford to take time off to properly recover. She had to work through her injuries, managing pain and limited mobility while trying to perform her duties.
The long-term consequences persist.
“I still have trouble lifting my left arm above my head even to this day.”
Seeking help
The idea to pursue legal action came from a conversation with someone who recommended she look into it.
“I was talking to someone about it, and they recommended that I try it, so I had a look online, and I was looking at the results and people’s comments.”
Her research led her to GMP Law.
“I was just looking online and reading some of the outcomes and thought I would email what happened.”
Building the case
Lawyer Olexa Matiouk took on Sharon’s case in April 2024 and quickly identified both the strength of the liability case and the significant impact the injuries had had on her day-to-day life. Sharon had suffered a fall on common property within her unit complex, in an area where concerns about damaged floor tiles had reportedly been raised for years before the incident.
The legal issues focused on the respective responsibilities of the Owners Corporation and the Strata Managing Agent.
Olexa explains:
“Section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) confers a positive statutory duty on the Owners Corporation to inspect and maintain the common areas against the risk of injury to pedestrians. Under the Strata Management Agreement, the Strata Managers were conferred full authority to arrange for things to be repaired, so long as the works cost less than $5,000. The costs to repair these tiles were estimated at under $500 by our expert.”
A range of records and expert evidence helped establish how long the issue had remained unresolved and who had responsibility for addressing it.
Various Strata AGM records documented owner complaints about the broken tiles over a period of years. The Strata Management Agreement also outlined who had the authority to arrange repairs, yet the area remained unrepaired until Sharon’s fall.
To support the claim, Olexa engaged several experts:
- An orthopaedic surgeon to assess Sharon’s physical injuries and need for surgery.
- An occupational therapist to evaluate the impact of the injuries on her home and work life, including any required modifications.
- A liability and building expert to examine the responsibilities of the Owners Corporation and Strata Managing Agent, and to assess the cost of repairs.
A team that cared
From the beginning, Sharon felt supported by the GMP Law team.
The communication was consistent and clear. But it was the personal approach that made the difference.
“They were amazing, they put my mind at ease, explained every detail of what they were doing and were always there to answer any questions that I had to ask,” she recalls.
Most importantly, the team made Sharon feel comfortable during an uncertain process.
“Just that they made me feel comfortable, knowing that they were helping me.”
Sharon specifically credits two team members: “The success was due to the two people who helped me the most, they are Olexa Matiouk [Lawyer] and Samantha Oliver [Secretary]. They were amazing, I believe they are the reason that the resolution of my case was so successful.”
