The High Court awarded Mohammed Ali Saleh €415,000 in compensatory damages after finding that Moyvalley Meats (Ireland) Limited negligently failed to train him in safe working posture at a slaughter hall station. Mr Justice Cross rejected his claim for aggravated or exemplary damages.
The judgment, delivered on 3 December 2015, concerned an injury Saleh said he suffered at work on 11 January 2007. He had been assigned to the factory’s “pluck” removal station, where workers removed organs from animal carcasses and lifted them over a railing onto a hook. The task involved twisting and turning while carrying the slippery load.
Saleh had previously complained of back strain while working at that station and was moved to a lighter spinal cord removal role in 2005. The judge accepted that he was sent back to the pluck station on the day of the incident and that he suffered an acute back injury there. He later underwent two operations and was left with chronic pain, mobility difficulties and significant mood problems. The judge accepted medical evidence that he was unlikely to improve physically or return to work.
The court rejected Saleh’s argument that the work system itself was negligent in 2007, and did not find that assigning him to the station that day was independently negligent. It did find that the employer had failed to provide adequate training on how to perform the turning manoeuvre safely. The judge accepted expert evidence that workers should have been instructed to rotate on the balls of their feet to keep their hips and shoulders aligned. He found no contributory negligence.
The employer disputed that the accident occurred as Saleh described and challenged the credibility of his account and the seriousness of his injuries. The judge rejected the allegation that Saleh was malingering and accepted that his employment caused the disc injury, while noting he had experienced back problems before January 2007.
The award comprised €65,000 for past loss of earnings, €100,000 for future loss of earnings, €175,000 for pain and suffering to the date of judgment, and €75,000 for future pain and suffering. The judge declined to add aggravated or exemplary damages, concluding that the employer’s defence was not, in the circumstances, irresponsible or overenthusiastic.