A construction worker who fell off a trailer sued his ex-employer for compensation.

He claimed that it was because of the company's and other employees' negligence that caused a bundle of metal beams to strike him in the chest and throw him off the trailer.

However, after multiple ex-colleagues testified that they saw him jump off the trailer himself, a district judge dismissed his claims.

Worker said he was hit by the metal beams

According to a judgment dated Mar. 8, 2024, Kalimuthu Muruganantham was a construction worker employed by Shincon Industrial Pte. Ltd.

On Jul. 21, 2020, at approximately 1:40pm, Muruganantham was on a trailer bed, rigging the metal beams to an excavator for unloading.

Once the beams were rigged to the excavator, he was supposed to climb down from the trailer bed before the excavator lifted the beams from the trailer and lowered them to the ground.

The worker claimed he was making his way to the access ladder at the front of the trailer bed after rigging the beams when suddenly and without warning, the excavator operator lifted the bundle of metal beams, which swung towards the worker and struck him in the torso.

He claimed that the impact caused him to fall from a height of approximately two metres from the trailer bed, where he fractured his right elbow and right foot.

Colleagues said he jumped

However, the company denied his claims.

Numerous witnesses either testified that they did not see how the construction worker fell from the trailer bed or said he had voluntarily jumped off it.

The company also said the worker had disregarded the “safe operation procedures” at the worksite established by the company.

Judge's decision

Explaining how he came to his decision, the judge said that while the parties did not dispute that Muruganantham was injured by the fall, Muruganantham had to prove that the allegations that he had fallen off because he was struck in the chest.

On a side note, the judge pointed out that Muruganantham did not request that the company be liable for his injuries regardless of the reason for his fall.

However, the judge noted that not only were there no witnesses supporting Muruganantham's version of events but there was no objective medical evidence to show he was struck in the chest.

The judge also said that it was "incredible" that Muruganantham had not informed the doctor he was struck in the chest on the day of the incident.

While the judge believed that Muruganantham's lawyers should have addressed the absence of evidence from the medical records, it was "surprising" that they didn't.

Instead, the judge said they chose to focus on photographic "evidence," showing that a bundle of beams was "lifted from its resting position."

"With respect, I am unable to see how [Muruganantham's] counsel came to that conclusion," the judge said.

The judge said that, during the trial, Muruganantham also could not properly identify which bundle had struck him.

The judge dismissed Muruganantham's claims at the end of the trial and ordered him to pay S$33,000 in legal costs to the company.

Top image via court documents