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The Presiding Judge, Yenagoa Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman has held that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria owed Mr Inyang a duty of care to provide safe equipment and a safe work environment.
The Court held that the injury sustained by Mr Inyang at the construction site of CCECC was a direct result or consequence of the wrongful act of the construction firm for not taking proper care and precaution for safety at the workplace.
Justice Polycarp further held that the relevant consideration was not whether Mr Inyang received adequate treatment after the accident, as evidenced by the medical records, but the procedures and processes China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria put in place to protect Mr Inyang from the accident happening in the first place.
The Court awarded Mr Inyang the sum of N20m as compensation/general damages for the injury sustained, directing that the terms of the judgment be complied with within 30 days.
From facts, the Claimant, Mr Inyang, had submitted that he was employed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria as an iron bender and sustained an injury at the construction site while carrying out his duties.
Mr. Inyang stated that he was rushed to the Hospital after the accident and that the Construction Company suddenly stopped paying his salary in April 2023 and September 2023 and short-paid him for 4 months in 2023.
He maintained that the injury had affected his ability to carry out serious iron bending work and sought compensation for the injury, pains, loss of financial earnings, loss of amenities, loss of occupation and time spent receiving treatment, as well as payment of his claimed outstanding salaries and continued payment of his monthly salary.
In defence, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria admitted that Mr Inyang sustained the injury while at the work site but maintained that the seriousness of the injury was reduced because he was wearing Personal Protective Equipment provided by them.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation further stated that Mr Inyang was given medical treatment, allowances and five months’ salary while recovering from the injury.
The Construction Company averred that the injury had healed but that Inyang failed to return to work after the period granted for his recovery, leading to the stoppage of his salary from September 2023.
CCECC contended that Mr Inyang was not entitled to further compensation or salary having received medical care, five months’ salary and payment for his treatment, and urged the Court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
In opposition, the learned counsel to the Claimant, J. Amity Esq argued that there was nothing before the Court showing that Mr Inyang's employment had been terminated in accordance with his contract of employment and urged the Court to grant the reliefs sought.
In a well-considered judgment, the Presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman, stated that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, as the employer of Mr. Inyang, owed him a duty of care to take reasonable care by providing safe equipment and a safe work environment generally to enable him to discharge his duties safely.
The Court held that Mr. Inyang had established that there was an accident which caused the injury to his right foot as a result of the negligence of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
Justice Hamman held that although the Claimant sought N200m as compensation, the evidence before the Court suggested that he had recovered from the injuries and had expressed the desire to resume work, and awarded the sum of Twenty Million Naira (N20,000,000.00) to the Claimant as compensation/general damages.
“I am of the considered view that the Claimant has not only established the fact that there was an accident which caused the injury to his right foot as a result of the negligence of the defendant, but also that the injury or damages sustained was a direct flow or consequence of the defendant’s wrongful act of not taking proper care and precaution for his safety at the workplace.”- The Court ruled
The Court also refused the relief sought by Mr. Inyang for continued payment of monthly salary from January 2024 onward, holding that the employment relationship between the parties was not one with statutory flavour that may necessitate an order of specific performance or reinstatement.
