Electrocuted man's heirs win Lm61,000 damages

A court has awarded over Lm61,000 in damages to the heirs of a 23-year-old labourer who was electrocuted while working in a quarry in 1988.

The heirs, Nazzareno Zammit, Doreen Zammit, Maria Zammit, Michael Zammit and Mary Borg, had sued Joseph Zahra, the quarry owner, Saviour Zammit, an Enemalta Corporation foreman, and Alfred Pace who had installed the electricity supply to the quarry.

They said Carmelo Zammit had died tragically in July 1988 while working in a quarry known as Ta' Kandja in the limits of Siggiewi. Zammit, they claimed, had died as a result of negligence and non-observance of Enemalta regulations on the part of the quarry owner, the Enemalta foreman and the electrician who had installed the electricity.

The court was asked to condemn defendants to make good the damages sustained.

Defendants pleaded that the action was time-barred and that they were not liable towards the heirs in damages.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, noted that the electricity supply to the quarry was initially provided by two diesel-electric generators situated within the quarry. In November 1987, the quarry owner had applied to Enemalta for a three-phase supply. This application was signed by Edmund Mifsud, a qualified electrician, on condition that the installation would be carried out by himself. However, Zahra had not charged Mifsud to carry out the work but had engaged Pace who was neither qualified nor licensed by Enemalta as an electrician but who had work experience.

On the day of the accident, which was the day the power supply from Enemalta had reached the quarry, rock cutting work had commenced at 4 a.m., the court heard.

The electricity supply was provided by the two generators. Up till 11.30 a.m., and prior to the switching over of the power supply from the generators to the Enemalta supply, the rock cutting machines did not give any signs of electric shocks or other problems.

On that day, the installation of the electricity in the quarry had been checked by the Enemalta foreman. The foreman had certified that the installation and the machinery were in accordance with regulations.

At about 11.30 a.m., and without the labourers being informed, Zahra and Saviour Zammit had agreed to commence the process of the switching over of power from the generators to the Enemalta supply. As soon as the Enemalta district foreman installed the supply fuses in the substation, all external metal of the machinery within the quarry, including the generators, the rock cutting machinery and the metal railings on which the labourers were working, were hit by a high current of about 240 volts.

The deceased was in contact with the metal railings at the time and was electrocuted.

The court concluded that the accident occurred as a result of a defect in the electrical installation, namely in that part of the installation that had been carried out in connection with the new service requested by the quarry owner.

Mr Justice Mallia found that the defendants had tried to blame each other for the accident. The court believed that responsibility for the accident was to be placed at the door of all three.

Pace had carried out electrical works for which he was not qualified or licensed. He had done the work badly and had failed to install a bonding conductor as protection against electrocution.

Saviour Zammit had either not checked Pace's workmanship or had not checked it properly. No one present had seen him check the system boxes.

The quarry owner was also responsible for the accident for his main duty was that of safeguarding his employees.

In this case, Zahra had not only taken an unnecessary risk when he had engaged an unqualified person to carry out the installation work but had also failed to inform his workers when the system was switched from the generators to the three-phase supply.

Mr Justice Mallia concluded that all three defendants were jointly and severally liable towards the heirs in the damages they had sustained as a result of the death of Carmelo Zammit.

However, in establishing the internal relationship between the defendants the court ruled that half the responsibility in damages was to be borne by Zahra, and one-quarter each by Pace and Saviour Zammit.

In liquidating the damages, the court concluded that defendants, jointly and severally between them, were to pay the heirs a total of Lm61,875 damages together with interest as from October 2000.