The National Industrial Court, Yenagoa Judicial Division, has ordered China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria Limited to pay ₦20 million to its worker, Mr Inyang Collins, as compensation and general damages for an injury he sustained at the company’s construction site in Bayelsa State.
Presiding Judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman, held that CCECC owed Collins a duty of care to provide safe equipment and a safe working environment and found that the injury to his right heel and outer part of his right foot was a direct consequence of the company’s failure to take proper care and precautions for his safety at work. The Court ordered that the judgment be complied with within 30 days, failing which the award will attract 10 per cent interest per annum until fully paid.
According to the judgment, Collins was employed by CCECC as an iron bender and sustained the injury on March 8, 2023, while carrying out his duties at the company’s construction site in Angiama-Oporoma waterside, Bayelsa State.
The Court heard that Collins was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, after the accident, where the wound was sutured. He subsequently received treatment at other medical facilities.
Collins told the Court that the injury affected his ability to carry out serious iron-bending work. He also claimed that CCECC stopped paying his full salary in April 2023 and September 2023 and paid him less than his monthly salary in May, June, July and August 2023.
His monthly salary was stated as ₦53,850.
Collins sought ₦200 million in compensation for the injury, pain, loss of financial earnings, loss of amenities, loss of occupation and time spent receiving treatment. He also sought payment of claimed outstanding salaries and continued payment of his monthly salary from January 2024.
In its defence, CCECC admitted that Collins sustained the injury at its work site but argued that the seriousness of the injury was reduced because he was wearing Personal Protective Equipment provided by the company.
The company also told the Court that Collins received medical treatment, drugs, crutches and an allowance after the accident. It maintained that site workers were given safety training and that the injury had healed.
CCECC further argued that Collins had been given time to recover but failed to return to work, and that this led to the stoppage of his salary. The company therefore maintained that he was not entitled to further compensation or salary and urged the Court to dismiss the suit.
However, Collins’ counsel, J. Amity, argued that there was nothing before the Court showing that his client’s employment had been terminated in accordance with his contract of employment. Counsel urged the Court to grant the reliefs sought.
In his judgment, Justice Hamman held that Collins had to establish the existence of a duty of care, a breach of that duty and damages suffered as a result of the breach.
The Court found that CCECC, as Collins’ employer, owed him a duty of care to take reasonable steps to provide safe equipment and a safe working environment.
Justice Hamman held that Collins had established that an accident occurred and that the injury he sustained was caused by CCECC’s negligence.
The Judge also said the key consideration was not simply whether Collins received adequate treatment after the accident, but the procedures and processes CCECC had put in place to protect him from the accident occurring in the first place.
The Court found that the evidence showed Collins had recovered from his injuries and had expressed a desire to resume work. Although he sought ₦200 million in compensation, the Court awarded him ₦20 million as compensation and general damages.
The Court stated: “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, however, declined to award Collins the ₦269,250 he claimed as salary for April, September, October, November and December 2023, holding that there was nothing before it to show that he worked during the months in question.
It also refused his request for continued payment of his monthly salary from January 2024 onward, holding that the employment relationship between the parties was not one with statutory flavour that would require an order of specific performance or reinstatement.
The Court consequently entered judgment in favour of Collins in part and awarded him ₦20 million as compensation and general damages. It directed that the judgment be complied with within 30 days, failing which the amount would attract 10 per cent interest per annum until fully liquidated.
