Bangladeshi Worker Paralysed After Falling At Westgate Tower Compensated S$971K
Workplace accidents can result in long-term repercussions for the victim.
A Bangladeshi worker, Mr Janaed, became paralysed from the neck down after falling from a 3.7-metre height in Westgate Tower on 8 Nov 2018.
He was inspecting an overhead chiller in the mechanical and electrical room.
Now, over four years later, he has received a compensation fee of S$971,000 in damages from the subsidiary management corporation (MCST) of Westgate Tower.
Bangladeshi worker left paralysed after falling at Westgate Tower
The Straits Times (ST) reports that Mr Janaed was engaged by STA Rita Engineering Services, an air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation services company on 8 Nov 2018.
His task was to inspect the overhead chiller at Westgate Tower.
Unfortunately, he fell from the top of the chiller in the mechanical and electrical room.
At the time, he was using one hand to hold his phone and take photos of the flow switch. He was reportedly using his other hand to enlarge the picture via the zoom-in function.
There were allegedly no guard rails where Mr Janaed fell from, and he also did not use a safety harness or belt.
As a result of the fall, the 47-year-old spent 91 days at the National University Hospital (NUH) and 152 days at Alexandra hospital.
The incident also left him paralysed from the neck down. Now a quadriplegic, Mr Janaed has since returned to Bangladesh following his treatments.
Part of compensation to pay off hospital bills
According to ST, Mr Janaed sued four parties for negligence.
They include:
- his former employer, Newtec Engineering
- his actual employer & owner of STA Rita Engineering Services, Mr Felizardo Paras Jose
- Westgate’s MCST
- the main contractor hired to do air-conditioning & ventilation works for Westgate Tower, Zoe International
ST reported that Zoe International subcontracted part or all of their work to STA Rita Engineering services.
Source: Google Maps
The MCST apparently appealed its 70% joint liability with STA Rita Engineering in the negligence that caused Mr Janaed’s accident. However, their appeal failed.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed Mr Janaed’s plea to reduce the High Court’s finding that he held 30% of the blame for the incident.
The court judgment on 10 Feb noted that a portion of the compensation sum will be used to pay off the approximate S$149,281, and $58,081 in medical bills owed to the NUH and Alexandra Hospital respectively.
Newtec Engineering is also facing charges in court as they not only failed to purchase insurance for Mr Janaed, but also did not pay his medical bills.
Brother also fell while working in Singapore
According to ST, Mr Janaed’s brother, Mr Jahid, is in an ongoing lawsuit for a leg injury. He apparently sustained the injury after falling more than 3 metres while doing air-conditioning maintenance work at United Square Mall’s Starbucks outlet on 7 Apr 2018.
In Oct 2019, he sued Mr Jose, Zoe International, Starbucks Coffee Singapore and UOL Property Investments.
The court found all four defendants to be 70%t liable for negligence.
The court will decide the amount of compensation for damages that Mr Jahid will receive at a later date.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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