Court awards N10m compensation against Nestle for negligence

National Industrial Court in Ibadan on Tuesday awarded a N10 million compensation against Nestle Nigeria PLC for negligence, leading to an injury sustained by an employee of the company, Ilesanmi Temokun.

Temokun had, through his counsel, Mr Tope Temokun, instituted a negligence suit against the company and Mary Bolajoko Consultancy Services Limited over the injury sustained while working in the firm’s premises.

The claimant’s counsel had informed the court that his client sustained a life-threatening injury when an iron locker fell on him on Sept. 4, 2021 while working at the company’s premises.

He urged the court to award the sum of N10 million as compensation/damages in favour of his client and against Nestle Nigeria PLC.

Counsel to Nestle, Mr Abraham Adeoye, had urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.

However, Justice John Peters, while delivery judgment in the suit on Tuesday, said it was the duty of employers to make the workplace safer for their employees.

Peters said that if the iron locker in the cloak room of the company was adequately fixed, the accident resulting in the fall of iron locker on the body of the claimant would have been avoided.

He said that the injury sustained by the claimant led to his being diagnosed with spinal shock at the hospital and advised to restrain from carrying out strenuos work or standing for long hours.

The judge said that the claimant was a young man of about 35 years of age and had been advised to restrain from engaging in stressful work at that age.

He said that he held no cost of action against the second defendant because she was the one that recruited the claimant for the first defendant (Nestle Nigeria PLC).

“I hold that the first defendant holds the claimant a duty of care.

“The claimant has discharged the burden of proof on him.

“The claimant is awarded a sum of N10 million as compensation for the injury sustained while working in the premises of the first defendant.

“A cost of N500,000 is also awarded as litigation cost in favour of the claimant,” he said.

According to the judge, the judgment cost will attract a 20 per cent per annual interest until it is fully settled.