Sunscreen Pty Ltd
Window Tinting
Licensed 3M Film Installer
Wholesale 3M Film Distributor
48 HOTHAM PARADE
ARTARMON NSW 2064
AUSTRALIA
Phone: 02 9439 5999
Fax: 02 9777 8790
sunscreen@windowtinting.com.au
Australian Glass Standard AS 1288, AS/NZS 2208 for toughened or laminated glass in buildings, (and AS/NZS 2080 for automotive glass)
Property owners: Reduce the risk associated with unsafe or non-compliant glass by upgrading it with 3M Scotchshield Safety and Security film.
Property owners may be exposing themselves to greater risk of litigation and damages if glass on their property is found to be unsafe or non-compliant with current Australian Glass Standards. This is especially apparent with homes constructed or renovated before implementation of the Standard AS1288.
The following case studies reinforce that without the use of safe glass in homes and public places how serious and costly glass injuries can be.
An 18-year-old South Australian girl was awarded nearly $24,000 compensation when her back and arms were seriously lacerated and disfigured by a breaking shower screen. The District Court of South Australia found that the owner/operator was liable for having glass that was not up to current Australian Standards.
District Court of South Australia, 1996
An 11-year-old girl fell through the door of a flat, which had been built before 1970. Cuts sustained in the accident were so deep that her leg was almost severed. Damages of nearly $140,000 were awarded. The defence argued that the glass was glazed according to the required Standards at the time it was built, but the Judge ruled that the Standards existing at the time of the accident were irrelevant.
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, 1991
The tragic death of a toddler in a Sydney family day care facility in 2003 reignited awareness of how critical safety glass can be. The toddler fell from a chair and crashed through a nearby window sustaining fatal injuries.
NSW Coroners Court, 2003
An customer attempting to enter a store at night walked into the shop’s glass door after the shop was closed. The glass shattered damaging the customer’s face. The glass door was found to not incorporate the safety features which such doors should have fitted to safeguard them. The Judge awarded damages of$11,400 to the customer, finding that the shopkeeper failed in its duty of care.
Supreme Court of New South Wales – Court of Appeal, 1985
3M Scotchshield Safety and Security films are tested to meet and exceed the requirements of AS 1288 and AS 2208; regulations for Australian Glass Standards. The film is professionally applied by 3M accredited installers and will take sub-standard glass to meet the current Australian Glass Standards of safety and quality (as indicated by the red ‘five tick’ Standards stamp).
AS2208-1978, Safety Glazing Materials for use in Buildings (human impact considerations)
AS1288-2006, Glass in Buildings: Selection and Installation
Centrelink must pay compensation to a man who smashed his hand through a glass door after he was told he had to wait in an unemployment office queue. The District Court ruled that Centrelink should have foreseen that it would have angry and frustrated clients and therefore should have used strengthened safety glass in its front doors. The man suffered a severe gash on his arm and was awarded more than $5,000 compensation after Centrelink was found to have failed in its duty of care.
The West Australian, October 2000