An Irish backpacker who had four toes amputated after his foot was crushed by machinery on a Mungindi cotton farm has been awarded more than $560,000 in compensation.
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Enda Matthew Judge, 26, was working on a compacter on a cotton farm in Mungindi when his right foot was crushed by the wheels of the machine on May 1, 2009.
He was flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Toowoomba and then rushed by ambulance to hospital where his wounds were stitched and dressed.
A week later, however, his toes started to turn black and doctors at Mungindi hospital advised him to travel immediately to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.
He made the eight-hour journey to Brisbane by car with his brother.
In his second week in Princess Alexandra Hospital Mr Judge said he could smell gangrene developing in his toes.
Four toes on his right foot were amputated later that week.
Mr Judge sued the farm's owners and operators RH Grey and Son Pty Ltd, Danbil Pty Ltd and Daniel Burke for damages in Brisbane District Court last month.
In a 20-page written judgement, released last week, Judge Kiernan Dorney found in favour of Mr Judge.
"I conclude that the plaintiff has suffered significant restrictions in his ability to enjoy the general amenities of life," he said.
"The considerable disruption to the plaintiff's recreational and social activities has been significant for such a youthful plaintiff."
Judge Dorney awarded the plaintiff $70,000 in damages for suffering and loss of amenities of life and $367,500 for future economic loss.
He ordered the defendants pay their former employee a total of $566,752 in damages, after taking into account Mr Judge's past and future medical costs and his loss of superannuation benefits.