Ex-employee sues National Milling Company for injuries

GRACE CHAILE-LESOETSA Writes @SunZambian A FORMER employee of National Milling Company (NMC) has sued the company in the Lusaka High Court demanding payment of damages for personal injuries sustained during the course of employment. Mr Emmanuel Phiri stated that while on duty, a 50 kilogram of flour fell on him causing serious injuries and later losing employment as he was unable to perform his duties. Mr Phiri has asked the Court to order NMC to pay him damages for personal injuries sustained whilst in the course of employment, damages for loss of future and prospective earnings and order for any other relief the court may deem fit, interest and costs. In his statement of claim filed on January 21, this year, Mr Phiri stated that he was initially employed as a general worker and later promoted to the position of Checker at the Flour Warehouse and Dispatch Department stationed at NMC’s plant. He stated that on or about July 17, 2017, while in the course of performing his duties at NMC’s plant, he was involved in an accident when a bag of 50 Kilograms of flour violently fell from a conveyor belt and landed on his left shoulder which resulted into serious personal injury. The former employee claims that the said accident was caused by breach of statutory duty by the defendant. He identified the particulars of breach of statutory duty as failure to fence the Conveyor belt machine so as to avoid it being a danger to the plaintiff contrary to the Factories Act. Mr Phiri stated that further or in the alternative the said accident was caused by NMC’s agents and/servants’ negligence namely failure to ensure the conveyor belt was not over laden with bags of flour so as to avoid the accident. He stated that the other negligency was the overloading of the conveyor belt with bags of flour thereby increasing the likelihood of the accident and failing to take precautionary measures so as to avoid the accident. Mr Phiri stated that as a result of the accident, he sustained serious personal injuries of pain in the left shoulder, and pain in the lower back (lumber spine). He stated that after the accident, NMC placed him on paid sick leave for a period of six months and that he continued receiving medical treatment at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH). Mr Phiri stated that on July 11, 2019, a medical board was constituted to report on his injuries and ability to remain in employment and following the board’s assessment he learnt that the personal injuries he suffered were serious in nature and he could not continue discharging his duties as an employee. He said the company discharged him on medical grounds on September 28 2019. Mr Phiri claim because of the injuries sustained during the course of employment, he has suffered loss and has been deprived of an opportunity to remain productively employed.