Media
- Home
- Details
Portharcourt –His Lordship, Hon. Justice Zaynab M. Bashir, of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Portharcourt Judicial Division on Wednesday 27th February 2019 in a judgment delivered held a firm S.J. ABED GENERAL ENTR. LTD (defendant) liable for negligence and failure to take reasonable care of Ex-Staff MR EMMANUEL NJOKU (claimant) over the incidence that resulted in his permanent disability, and ordered payment of N8,000,000.00 (Eight Million Naira only) as general damages.
The Claimant sought against the Defendant among others; A DECLARATION that the claimant deserve to be adequately compensated by the Defendant as the injury of permanent disability was sustained at the cause of Claimant work and Defendant’s negligent led to the Claimant permanent disability and payment of his unpaid salaries. A DECLARATION that the termination of Claimant from the employment of the Defendant is wrongful, unjust, null and void and same employment still subsisting. beseech
Likewise, The sum of N100,000,000.00) One Hundred Million Naira) only as general, aggravated and exemplary damages for disability of permanent nature, continuous deterioration of his leg and pains as a result of improper treatment, loss of future work opportunities.
The case of the Claimant is that he was an employee of the Defendant and worked in the kitchen at Newcross Exploration and Production Limited in Bayelsa State. On 6th of August, 2013, he was to clock out from work location and waited for his reliever to clock-in and relieve him and also for the helicopter that was to carry him out of the location to no avail.
On the 7th of August, 2013 he got to know that the helicopter could not make it to the location as a result of unfavourable weather condition. Eventually, his partner came in by sea to relieve him in the evening of 7th August 2013. The said partner had gone to collect money for both himself and the Claimant to transport by sea in view of the unavailability of the helicopter and traveling by sea was a regular means.
In the course of the traveling by sea, while the boat boarded by the claimant had made its way through the creeks to the high sea, an unsuspecting boat filled by sea pirates sped towards their boat and rain bullets on the boat and passengers. The result of which left some aboard the ill-fated boat dead and left the Claimant with injury from the gunshot on his left leg.
The police carried out investigation, issued the Claimant a medical report and confirmed the Claimant’s injury was from gunshot by the sea pirates. He was moved to one Specialist Hospital. The defendant did not pay the cost of x-tray or any cost at all but moved the Claimant to Another hospital which is the company retained hospital where he was dumped for seven days waiting for an orthopedic surgeon.
The surgeon eventually concluded that there was no bullet in the bone and the wound on the leg was stitched. The surgeon directed claimant to come back in two months for an operation on the leg for correction. When he returned in two months, the hospital realized that they lack the expertise to handle the case of the Claimant and referred him to Military Hospital stating that the Claimant has foot drop.
Upon getting to the Military hospital, he was asked to get the hospital card and make payment of deposit for treatment to commence. He didn’t have money and was abandoned at the hospital and was informed that the company would not take up payment for treatment that is outside the company hospital.
The Claimant himself does not have such financial capacity and that led him to resort to traditional treatment and now he has permanent disability owing to the delay in the treatment.
The Claimant posited that after the pains subsided, he returned to work with discomfort to avoid termination of his employment but was shocked when on the 25th of May, 2015 he received a notice of redundancy. The Claimant got his lawyer to write to the Defendant but same yielded no result, hence this suit.
The case of the Defendant is that the event that led to the injury sustained by the Claimant was as a result of insubordination. They added that it is the policy of the Defendant that staff who are due for clocking-out of location will always remain at the location until being relieved by the reliever for safety reasons and in order to have a proper record of the staff and also not to cause stoppage to productivity. That the Claimant abandoned his duty post and boarded boat to Port Harcourt before the incident occurred on the sea.
They posited that the Claimant was given all the necessary medical attention before being referred to the Military Hospital. They posited that the Claimant abandoned the physiotherapy treatment at the Military Hospital Port Harcourt and opted for native/local treatment which contributed to his plight.
The Defendant also posited that it became expedient to reduce its staff strength generally and that was what led to the termination of the Claimant’s employment and the Claimant had been paid his entitlements in line with the company policy. The Defendant contends that the Claimant is not entitled to the claims as they are frivolous and lacking in merit.
Counsel contended that the Defendant did not lose any of its contracts anywhere to warrant declaring the Claimant redundant. That at the time he was declared redundant, the Defendant was in full operations and is currently there operating in full capacity.
After careful evaluation of all the processes filed, and the submissions of the learned Counsel from both sides. The Court presided by Hon. Justice Z. M. Bashir expressed thus;
“The cumulative effect of the testimony of Claimant witness and the failure of the Defendant to present any cogent evidence to establish a breach of the Defendant’s Policy in the Claimant’s clocking-out of the Defendant’s work location or a breach of the company’s safety policy on sea travel, It is my considered view in the circumstances that the injury sustained by the Claimant was in the course of the Defendant’s employment and I so hold.
“In that regard, as far as the evidence before this court is concerned, it is clear to all and sundry that there is no receipt of payment from any of the hospitals before the court. Not even the one paid to the hospital with which the Defendant has retainership.
“Both the Claimant and Defendant failed to present any terms guiding the employment relationship existent between them. In view of the absence of such terms, resort is had to the common law of tort as it relates to breach of duty of care.
“As it is not in doubt that the claimant has lost the use of the leg in question, the claimant now moves with difficulty with the aid of crutches as I saw physically in court. Disability is therefore established.
“I hold that the defendant failed to take reasonable care and that resulted in the permanent disability. Consequently, I find the Defendant liable in negligence."
The court ordered defendant to pay Claimant the sum of N8,000,000.00 (Eight Million Naira only) as general damages for the negligent act of the Defendant leading to disability of permanent nature, continuous deterioration of the leg and pains as a result of improper treatment of the Claimant.”
