Contractor to pay injured grader operator Sh12 million
An earthmover on standby at a construction site. The Court of Appeal has ordered that a former grader operator who was injured in an accident, after the employer failed to service the earthmover be paid Sh11.9 million. FILE PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG
A former grader operator who was injured in an accident, which he blamed on his employer's failure to service the machine, will now be paid Sh11.9 million after the appellate court slashed about Sh3 million from his compensation award.
The High Court had in 2016 directed Coastal Kenya Enterprises Ltd to compensate Mr Charles Mwaniki Muchiri Sh15.9 million for loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering and special damages but was reduced after his former employer appealed against the pay.
Mr Muchiri was employed as a grader operator in 2007 and was involved in an accident on July 1, 2008, while operating the earthmover on Maua-Kiutine Road, where the company had been contracted to make a road.
Evidence tabled in court says the grader would develop mechanical problems from time to time and on the fateful day, the brakes failed as it descended on a hill.
Mr Muchiri sustained severe head injuries with multiple scalp fractures and had to undergo surgery. His doctor said the injuries resulted in 65 percent incapacity.
The company argued in the appeal that Mr Muchiri was equally to blame because he had a degree of duty in ensuring his own safety and health.
“In the end, the appeal fails on all other grounds save on the issue of the award on loss of earning capacity and loss of future earnings,” Justices Hannah Okwengu, Asike-Makhandia and Jamila Mohammed said.
The judges faulted the trial court for awarding Mr Muchiri maximum multiplier by assuming that the former machine operator would have worked until the age of 60 years.
According to the judges, the High Court judge failed to take into account the ‘vicissitudes’ of life and the other ‘imponderables’ saying nobody knows for certain what the future holds.
