Malta Freeport has been ordered to pay an employee nearly €63,000 in damages after a court held that it was responsible for the injuries he suffered as a result of a workplace incident. 

The incident occurred in August 2007, when Freeport stevedore Malcolm Cumbo, then 25, held the post of a tug driver with the company. He was asked to unload two containers off a stack.

The crane operator, Antoine Cassar, debarked the container without allowing Mr Cumbo enough time to ensure that the trailer was in position. The container ended up positioned in a way which did not leave enough space for the second container. Upon seeing this, the operator tried to rectify his mistake by hooking the front part of the second container to the trailer's corner pockets.

The crane operator gave a number of sharp jerks to force the container into place, causing Mr Cumbo - who was seated in the tug's cabin waiting to manoeuvre it - to hit his head against the cabin's roof and his chest against the steering wheel. He ended up between the dashboard and the seat twice, feeling a shot of pain searing through his back, shoulders and chest.

Since the two workers were not provided with a system through which they could communicate, the operator was not aware of Mr Cumbo's predicament.

The plaintiff then approached the shift leader and was taken to hospital. He returned to work two weeks later. However, in October of that year, Mr Cumbo was once again overcome by pain in his neck and back. On the recommendation of a specialist, he stopped work and returned in April 2008.

The pain continued to persist, and he underwent medical tests again in 2012 after suffering from pain to his neck and spine.

The Freeport argued that the operator it had engaged was a skilled and experienced man and that the machinery provided was in a good state of maintenance.

Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef noted that the plaintiff, who at the time was still a casual worker, had not been adequately supervised. The company failed to provide any apparatus through which the workers could communicate. The company had also not submitted proof as to the type of training the plaintiff had received.

Taking into consideration the plaintiff's age, his income and the fact that he suffered a five per cent permanent disability, the court ordered the Freeport to pay Mr Cumbo €62,645 in damages.