Indian national secures judgement on USD 73,000 claim from Singapore employer over fractured leg

Singapore: An Indian national has secured a judgement in his favour on a claim of over USD 73,000 from his Singapore employer company after he suffered a fracture in his leg while getting down from the vehicle ferrying him.

It was alleged that the company failed to provide a safe system of alighting from the vehicle that transported Ramalingam Murugan and other workers to their workplace.

In a judgment made available on Thursday, District Judge Tan May Tee ruled in favour Murugan, with damages to be assessed at a later stage, Channel News Asia reported.

Murugan's lawyer Muhamad Ashraf Syed Ansarai told the channel that his client was seeking about SGD 1,00,000 (USD 73,400) in damages.

The judge ruled that a safe system of work is required even for boarding and alighting from a lorry. The previous position was that this was a simple task that did not require any safe system of work, said Ansari.

Murugan, 37, was working as a structural steel and ship painter for marine vessel repair company ‘Rigel Marine Services’ at the time of the accident on January 3, 2021.

At around 7 am that day, Murugan was being transported from his dormitory to the company premises at 11A Joo Yee Road in the back of the 12-foot lorry ferrying 24 workers.

The workers were to alight when they got to the worksite. They would then be transferred to another lorry and ferried to a work location.

It was raining heavily at the time and the workers were in a hurry to shift to the other lorry so they would be sheltered from the rain, said Murugan.

He was the fourth man to alight from the lorry. At the time, the tailboard of the vehicle was not lowered, so he used both his hands to hold onto it.

He then used his left leg to step over the tailboard, so he could place it on a foothold on the lorry. However, Murugan said he was pushed either by a co-worker or co-workers who were waiting to alight.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Upon hitting the ground with full impact, his knee swelled up. His colleagues carried him to a workshop at the site before he was taken back to his dorm.

He was later taken to a hospital when the pain failed to subside, and it was discovered that he had suffered a fracture in his right leg.

He underwent surgical treatment for the fracture and was on medical leave for about five months.

Murugan sued his company, saying the accident was caused by its negligence or breach of duty.

The company had denied the claims and said Murugan had slipped and fallen as he was making his way down from the lorry.

The company said the accident was caused or contributed by Murugan's own carelessness in failing to watch his footing or step before alighting.

It also counterclaimed for the medical expenses and medical leave wages that had been paid to and for Murugan.

Based on the evidence, the judge found that it was "not inconceivable" that Murugan could have been accidentally pushed, with 20 men standing up from their seats on both sides of the lorry and eager to get off.

"As can be seen from the marking on the tailboard, this lorry was not meant to carry more than 22 persons at the time so there appears to have been some overcrowding as well," the Channel quoted the judge as saying.