Father-of-three Brett Suna successfully sued former employer Bridgestone Tyres at Hendra, on the city’s northside, after two work-related injuries left him out of a job for nearly four years.

Brisbane’s Supreme Court heard the 40-year-old forklift driver had been attempting to manually lift a 40-kilogram truck tyre from a raised cage in Bridgestone’s Nudgee Road warehouse in July, 2002, when he fell backwards and the tyre dropped on his head.

He also wrenched his arm trying to retrieve another tyre for a customer in a second incident a year later.

Doctors said the tyre blow had dislodged a disc in Suna’s back, causing him recurring pain, restricting his movements and limiting his future job prospects.

Surgery to fix the problem would cost $24,000, the court heard.
Suna, who left school at Grade 10, was forced to quit work with the company in 2004 and had since become a house husband.

Lawyers for Bridgestone unsuccessfully argued Suna may have had a pre-existing back injury, meaning something as simple as a sneeze could have caused his slipped disc.

However Justice Margaret White ruled in favour of Suna, ordering the company pay him $407,775 for lost income and future earning capacity, pain and suffering. (Tire Review/Akron)