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Lagos – His Lordship, Hon. Justice B. B. Kanyip of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Lagos, on Monday 28th January 2019 in a judgment ordered Rite Pak Company Limited (defendant) to pay Babatunde Ajala (claimant) within 30 days the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) as damages for workplace injury while operating an injection machine at the factory of the respondent on the 3rd day of March 2008. The court also awarded the sum of N300,000 as cost of action.
The matter was transferred from the High Court of Ogun State. The claimant commenced this action on 26th April 2010 at the High Court of Ogun State. Upon the transfer of the case to this Court parties were directed to re-file all processes in conformity with the Rules of the Court. By the complaint and statement of facts, the claimant sought for The sum of N25,000,000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Naira) against the respondent as damages for negligence for the loss of the three fingers of the claimant while operating an injection machine at the factory of the respondent on the 3rd day of March 2008.
The claimant’s case is that he was an employee of the defendant and on 3rd March 2018 while working with two other employees on Injection Moulding Machine that caused permanent injury to his three middle left fingers, one of the other two employees who was the supervisor negligently and without any iota of care carelessly left the door of the machine that was already on semi auto to answer a call on phone without warning him or the third employee who already pressed the limiting switch of the 2nd door of the machine thereby cutting off his fingers.
As per defendant, the claimant resumed work after his discharge from the hospital and continued to work for over six (6) months till 19th August 2008 when he suddenly and without any excuse or explanation stopped coming to work. The accident occurred when the Supervisor excused himself to take a call from the Managing Director and accidentally activated the switch button.
To the defendant, the issue of negligence was not properly pleaded. The defendant then submitted that clearly, if the accident and loss of part of three fingers of his left hand had indeed rendered “his left hand useless” and “rendered him permanently incapable of working”, the claimant would NOT have continued working in the defendant’s factory for six months after the accident and injury.
In reply, Claimant stated that in respect of duty of care, the defendant owes the claimant a duty of care for being his employee and that the claimant is entitled to be compensated in damages.
After careful analysis of all the processes filed, and the submissions of the learned Counsel from both sides. The Court presided by Hon. Justice B. B. Kanyip expressed thus;
“It is not in doubt that the claimant was employed by the defendant. It is also not in doubt that the injury complained of occurred when the claimant was at work in the defendant’s workplace. In fact, the evidence is that it was the defendant that even took the claimant to the hospital after the injury.
“In particular, the averment that the claimant was careless intuits either contributory negligence or voluntary assumption of risk on the part of the claimant. These defences, however, cannot stand since the defendant witness was not at the scene of the accident in order to give his evidence any weight. I so find and hold.
“Consequently, I have no doubt whatsoever in the instant case that the defendant is negligent and so breached the duty of care it owes the claimant. I thus find and hold that the claimant has proved the requirement of breach of the duty of care by the defendant.
“This being so, I find and hold that the defendant is liable to the claimant in negligence, the claimant having proved the trilogy of duty of care, breach of the duty of care and resultant damage.”
On the whole, the court ordered defendant to pay claimant the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) only as damages for negligence for the loss of the three fingers of the claimant while operating an injection machine and sum of N300,000 as cost of action within 30 days
