A Public Works Department worker put the tip of his finger in his pocket when it was severed during an accident near the Upper Barrakka Gardens, a court heard.

The incident happened when a manhole grating and its frame were being carried off a truck. The grating opened, trapping the finger.

The 60-year-old worker, despite the pain, picked up the severed fingertip and put it in his pocket, but surgeons were unable to reattach it. The worker who had handed him the grating passed out on seeing the blood.

The case happened on July 31, 2009.

The worker, William Cuschieri, sued the department's director-general for damages, holding him responsible for the accident.

The director said the worker was responsible because insufficient precautions had been taken by him.

A departmental report had found that the grating and its manhole were handed to Cuschieri by another man on the truck. It was too heavy and the accident happened when he hit his hand with the edge of the truck where blood was found. The grating also opened. The report said the unloading should have been done by both persons standing on the ground.
It was also found that the frame and the grating were not tied together and the gloves worn by the workers were not the right ones.  The report concluded that the accident occurred because the two employees concerned failed to realise the difficulties involved and the risks that they were taking when they lowered by themselves this relatively heavy grating from the truck without opening the truck box flap, without tying the frame and the cover together, and without asking for assistance, which measures could have
easily been implemented.”Quoting caselaw, the court said the employer had to ensure there was a safe place of work as much as was reasonably practical. The employer had to ensure that the employee knew the dangers and the precautions that had to be taken.In this case, the frame and grating were not tied together by a third person. Somebody had also loaded the truck in a way that the flap could not be opened.The court found that the director-general was responsible for 75% of the accident and the worker 25%.His permanent disability was put at 5% and the director was ordered to pay damages of €3,797.74