€31,354 in compensation for injury at Freeport

A court has awarded €31,400 in damages to a former Freeport worker who was left with a permanent disability as a result of a workplace accident in 2008.

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul was ruling in a claim for compensation filed by the man, Francis Cutajar, who suffered an eight percent disability whilst carrying out works on a ship on August 13, 2008. Cutajar was 58 years old at the time.

The court had been told how Cutajar had been carrying out lashing works on the CMA CGM Condor when he lost his balance and fell backwards from a height of one storey, landing on a passageway on board the vessel. He spent five months away from work and suffered an eight per cent disability as a result. 

Although not directly employed by Malta Freeport, the court held that the company still had a responsibility for the safety of workers who were carrying out works at its terminals. In this case, the accident could have easily been avoided had Cutajar been given protective clothing and safety harnesses, said Mr. Justice Ellul.

Cutajar had further claimed to have missed out on special duties as a result of the accident, but the court did not factor this in its calculation on compensation, noting that he had not presentend any evidence to this effect.

In addition, the court decreed that a medical report commissioned by Cutajar, carried out just two months after the accident ought not be used to establish the degree of disability, instead basing its calculations on a report by three court-appointed doctors.

Taking into account the fact that Cutajar had retired in December 2010, the court ordered the defendant to pay him €31,354 as compensation for the injuries he suffered.