Man wins close to €100,000 from government for eye injury

The government was yesterday ordered to pay almost €100,000 in damages to an employee who lost an eye while at work in 1996.

Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi delivered the judgment following a writ of summons filed by Antoine Gatt against the Director General for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

Mr Gatt told the court that he had lost his eyesight after he was instructed by the government to fetch an injured bird from Għadira Bay without having been provided with protective clothing.

In a judgment delivered last March, the First Hall of the Civil Court had ruled that the Department of Rural Affairs and the Environment bore two-thirds of the responsibility for the incident.

In yesterday's judgment the court proceeded to liquidate the damages suffered by Mr Gatt.

Mr Justice Azzopardi said Mr Gatt was 25 years old when the accident occurred, and that the court would, therefore, work out his damages over a 30-year period. Mr Gatt's salary at the time was Lm5,200 per annum, which when calculated on a 30-year period amounted to Lm156, 000 (€363,382).

Mr Gatt had suffered a 40 per cent permanent disability and this percentage of Lm156, 000 amounted to Lm41,600 equivalent to €96,928.

The government was ordered to pay this sum in damages to Mr Gatt.