Hairdresser who got arthritis from a MOSQUITO BITE while working in the outback wins compensation pay out

• e-mail

A woman who contracted arthritis after being bitten by a mosquito while training hairdressers in the outback won a workers compensation claim against TAFE SA.

Jennifer Roberts was put in a metal hut where temperatures exceeded 53 degrees Celsius with no air conditioner when TAFE SA transferred her to Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta, in central north South Australia, for a teaching placement. 

The 60-year-old hairdresser was ravaged by mosquitoes when she opened a window to cool the room in late October 2015 and subsequently contracted inflammatory arthritis which stopped her working and caused her significant anxiety.

Jennifer Roberts contracted arthritis afte being ravaged by mosquitoes when she opened a window to cool her 52 degree room when TAFE SA put her up during a teaching placement

TAFE SA were ordered to cover Ms Robert's medical costs and pay her a weekly allowance after she won a workers compensation claim against them in the South Australian Employment Tribunal on Tuesday. 

The tribunal heard Ms Roberts was bitten on the last night of her placement - when the room was so hot she could not even walk on the floor in bare feet - and upon returning home to Adelaide the right side of her face started to swell significantly.

Ms Roberts said she also had a fever, painful joints and was suffering with vomiting and diarrhoea. 

She went to a doctor and was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, caused by the mosquitoes, which meant her immune system started to attack her tissue causing pain, stiffness and joint damage.

TAFE SA were ordered to cover Ms Robert's medical costs and pay her a weekly allowance after she won a workers compensation claim against them on Tuesday

The tribunal heard mosquitoes entered the room and infected Ms Roberts through a hole in the fly screen

Ms Roberts also told the tribunal she had experienced anxiety, depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia following her diagnosis.

She said she 'felt useless' and anxious, which stopped her from participating in daily activities like going for a walk or visiting the supermarket.   

The hairdresser also experienced lethargy and jaw clenching. 

The tribunal heard she stopped supporting her local football team and could not longer teach a weekly hairdressing lesson at Glenelg, a beach-side suburb of Adelaide.

Ms Roberts said her accommodation at Pink Road House Caravan Park in Oodnadatta, paid for by the TAFE, was 'appalling' and she had encountered rats, mice, snakes and mosquitoes in the area around the end of her ten week placement.

Ms Roberts described her accommodation at Pink Road House Caravan Park (pictured) in Oodnadatta as 'appalling'

She argued that she was eligible for compensation as she contracted the disease during her placement and at accommodation provided by TAFE SA. 

SA Employment Tribunal deputy president Mark Calligeros agreed the accommodation was not acceptable as it was extremely hot and there was no functioning air conditioner. 

'The fly screen on the window were torn and mosquitoes entered the cabin as a result,' he said.

'If the air conditioner was working, the window would not have needed to be opened. If the window was not opened, mosquitoes would likely not have entered into the cabin through holes in the fly screen.' 

He noted that Ms Roberts tried to return to work in April and again in May but her 'ongoing joint problems' and mental state had meant she could not fulfil her duties. 

Mr Calligeros found Ms Roberts eligible to claim workers compensation for the arthritis and a related claim for mental loss.   

'Ms Roberts is entitled to weekly payments and medical expenses in relation to both her initial physical injury claim... and the related consequential mental loss claim.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Roberts lawyers, Tindall Gask Bentley, for comment in relation to the payout figure.