Wins €31,000 in damages

A court has ordered the health authorities to pay €31,000 in compensation to a nursing aide who was injured on the job at the Paola health centre.

Alexia Muscat told the court that the accident happened when she had to use a ladder to reach some files. As she was climbing down she fell the last four feet and injured her back.

She had not contributed to causing the accident - it occurred because the ladder was not suitable for this use, she said.

The authorities pleaded that they were not responsible for the accident, which happened on October 30, 1999, and that Ms Muscat had failed to provide concrete evidence that she had sustained physical harm. The court, presided over by Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia, declared that an employer must provide a safe system of work and a safe working environment, as well as adequate supervision.

In this case the authorities had not provided a risk-free working environment and they were therefore liable towards Ms Muscat in damages.

The court concluded that Ms Muscat had suffered a permanent disability of 10 per cent and awarded her the sum of €31,446.54 in damages.

Ms Muscat filed her writ against the Director General of Public Health, the Director General of Institutional Health and the Chief Government Medical Officer.