[ 2021-02-24 ]

Court orders ¢100,000 compensation for woman who lost fingers in accident
Dorcas Dzam, an employee of the Volta Forest
Products Limited in Hohoe who lost four fingers in
an accident on the job half a decade ago is
finally to receive GHS 100,000 in general
compensation from the firm.

This was after the Legal Aid Commission (LAC) took
the case on behalf of the woman to a Ho High
Court.

The court presided over by Mr Justice George
Buadi, gave the order last week Monday after it
heard that the woman who was 24 years the time,
was removing rubbish from the guillotine machine
which had a sharpening blade vertically installed
when it suddenly came down from its position and
chopped off four fingers from her right hand.

The incident took place on August 7, 2015, the
court was told.

Mr Nelson M. Kporha, Public Defender’s Division
of the LAC, said that after the incident, the
Labour Department in Hohoe directed Volta Forest
Products Limited to pay the victim an amount of
GHS 12,000 in compensation but the company refused
to make the payment.

According to Mr Kporha, the woman was rushed to
the Ho Municipal Hospital that day and was
transferred to the Ho Teaching Hospital the next
day where she was admitted for 17 days, “in
consequence whereof the plaintiff sustained severe
injuries resulting in the loss of her second to
the fifth fingers on the right hand.”

Mr Kporha insisted that the injuries suffered by
the woman were occasioned by the negligence of the
company.

For instance, he said Volta Forest Products
Limited failed to provide the employee the needed
training in operating the guillotine machine which
was defective for her use.

Apart from that, the company failed to take any or
adequate precautions for the plaintiff whiles she
was engaged on the job.

“The injuries, loss and damage were occasioned
to the plaintiff in the course of her employment
by a reason of defect in the said guillotine
machine and the said defect was attributable
wholly or partly to the faults of the manufactures
of the said machine,” said the LAC.

Furthermore, the Legal Aid Commission contended
that the victim never contributed to the accident
which was largely due to the defect in the
equipment – the guillotine machine.

Source - The Ghanaian Times

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