One Frank Nnamdi has urged the National Industrial Court to hold that the industrial accident which resulted in the amputation of the entire five fingers of his right hand was due to the failure of a Lagos-based plastic producing company, Leoplast Industries Limited, to put safety measures in place.
Nnamdi, who claimed to have lost his fingers to an industrial accident in the company on November 15, 2013, is seeking compensation in the sum of N15m from Leoplast.
In a statement of claim filed on his behalf by the Lagos State Directorate of Citizens’ Rights before Justice Dele Peters, Nnamdi alleged that before the accident occurred on November 15, 2013, his repeated demands on the company’s management to repair its machines and provide him with safety gloves were ignored.
Nnamdi, who claimed to know two other workers who had earlier suffered similar fate in the line of duty at Leoplast, also alleged that it took the company eight months to eventually pay his medical bill f N350,000.
He claimed that following the accident, his repeated demands for insurance claims and compensation from the company had been ignored leading him to approach DCR to seek legal redress.
“The claimant avers that lack of protective industrial graded hand gloves, goggles, shoes, clothings, reflective jackets and safety devices was the cause of the accident that happened at the defendant’s factory on the November 15, 2013 which resulted in the amputation of the claimant’s entire five fingers on the right hand.
“The claimant avers that the defendant has refused to take precautionary safety measures for its employees during the course of employment,” Nnamdi alleged in his 20-paragraph statement of claim.
But Laoplast, in its statement of defence, described Nnamdi’s claim as false, contending that the accident was not due to its failure or negligence to put safety devices in place.
Rather, Leoplast, through its counsel, Nnamdi Oragwu, claimed that Nnamdi’s sheer negligence to follow laid down safety instructions and his improper use of the machine were the factors responsible for the accident.
It said, “Upon posting the claimant to the stated department, the claimant was duly given safety instructions whilst safety gadgets, such as protective gloves, protective wears and glasses were also provided for the claimant by the defendant for use in the department.
“On November 15, 2013 when the claimant was working, due to improper use of the machine by the claimant, the machine sucked in the loaded product and failed to eject it following which the claimant, instead of calling on the maintenance/technical staff in charge to resolve the issue, and being aware of the risk involved in trying to fiddle with the machine without having requisite expertise, exposed himself to harm by failing to switch off the machine and putting his hand into the machine in an attempt to force the product out, which resulted in the sad incident.”
The company, which described Nnamdi’s conduct on the day of the accident as “an act of violent non fit injuria,” claimed that Nnamdi was well aware of the risks associated with his act before he allegedly voluntarily exposed himself to danger.
Leoplast claimed that despite the fact that Nnamdi’s accident resulted from his own disobedience of safety instructions and his carelessness, the company still took it upon itself to immediately take him to the hospital and paid his hospital bills.
It said Nnamdi lied by saying the hospital bill paid by the company was N350,000, claiming that the amount it paid for Nnamdi’s hospital bill to AGO Medical Centre was N1,696,100.
It claimed that after paying the hospital bill of N1.69m, it also paid Nnamdi N355,387.50, which Nnamdi allegedly accepted as final receipt, absolving the company of liability for future claims of compensation.
Besides denying Nnamdi’s claim that his repeated demands for compensation were ignored by the company, Leoplast claimed to have worked with its insurance company to ensure that Nnamdi’s insurance claim was paid.
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