Lawyer awarded €13,000 for injury at National Pool

The company managing the national pool at Tal-Qroqq has been ordered to pay just under €13,000 in damages to a lawyer who suffered a permanent injury there, six years ago.

Lawyer Simon Cachia had sliced his ankle on a submerged sharp metal object that had been attached to a waterpolo goal post. He filed legal proceedings against the Malta Sports Council (today Sport Malta) and the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta.

Cachia, who had been 30 at the time, was unable to work for 5 weeks and, although Cachia had made a full recovery three years after suffering the injury, he still would feel pain and tingling in the affected area from time to time.

In a judgement handed down earlier this week, Judge Silvio Meli held that Sports Malta should bear responsibility for the accident.

The court pointed out that the pool was under the obligation to provide a safe environment for swimmers and had failed to do so.

Meli noted that although the plaintiff was able to go jogging regularly and that the now well-healed injury could be considered a slight one, court experts had established a permanent disability of 1% and ordered the defendant to pay Cachia €12,993 in compensation.