A man's account as to how he sustained a serious burn while barbecuing at the Port Sorell Bowls Club reeks of reconstruction, says the club's lawyer.
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Kraig Anthony Dann, of Port Sorell, is seeking damages after his right hand was burned by hot fat during a barbecue at the bowls club on November 17, 2015.
Mr Dann alleges he was burnt when he attempted to remove a coffee mug from beneath the barbecue, which was being used to catch fat runoff after the fat had caught fire.
Club barrister Tom Cox told the Hobart Supreme Court on Tuesday inconsistencies in Mr Dann's version of events showed more than exaggeration or embellishment and his account should be rejected.
"At heart, our position is the plaintiff made a very poor error of judgement. He didn't need to do what he did," Mr Cox said.
"He had the free choice and practical choice to leave the barbecue alone."
Mr Cox said Mr Dann waited 60 seconds from the time the fat caught fire before attempting to remove the mug of fat indicating his safety was not at immediate risk.
"The notion he put the safety of the children [nearby] above his own is a reconstruction to justify his actions," Mr Cox said.
"He has created this agony of the moment that does not exist."
Mr Cox said the bowls club had fire extinguishers, fire blankets and first aid on site.
He said the club could predict the risk of fire from the barbecue but could not foresee how Mr Dann would react to the situation.
"A fire is foreseeable but the risk of this harm, a man getting under the barbecue to extract a mug, is so remote," Mr Cox said.
"To predict what this man did is to assess the situation with the benefit of hindsight."
Mr Dann's barrister Bruce McTaggart said in his foreseeability argument Mr Cox was cherry-picking a circumstance.
"This was a club barbecue conducted for the purpose of a corporate event ... in the circumstances which the club admits it owed a duty of care," Mr McTaggart said.
Mr McTaggart said while Mr Dann was barbecuing there were no wet towels, fire extinguisher or gloves nearby.
"If these were on club premises they were not known to the plaintiff and no instructions were given to the task," he said.
Justice Helen Wood will deliver a decision at a later date.