Freeport crane operator awarded €108,800 in compensation

A trainee crane operator who was injured after being left alone during his training schedule back in May 2005, is to be awarded €108,800 incompensation a court has ruled.

The case dates back to May 2005 when Patrick Gatt was injured during a training programme.

After being transferred from the Engineering Department to the Operations Sections, Gatt embarked on a training programme to earn F1 Operator Status. On 11 May, 2005 he was operating a quay crane as part of his training.

During this training, one of the 40-foot containers being unloaded off the vessel MV North Africa 1 struck the crane mounted on the ship. With the force of the impact, Gatt lost consciousness and eventually had to be helped off his crane. In the incident, Gatt suffered a 5% permanent disability to his neck and back.

Investigations revealed how the ship's clerk, who was supposedly overseeing and guiding the movements of Gatt's crane from shipside, had abandoned his post to replace his radio batteries.

Ray Azzopardi, the instructor entrusted with Gatt's training on that day, was neither next to the plaintiff in the crane's cabin, nor was he in radio contact with him from ground level. Furthermore, the training was not given by its regular instructor, and only after three weeks, Gatt was left to operate a crane on his own.

When asked about the whereabouts of trainer Ray Azzopardi when the accident happened, a witness replied: "I have no idea. Most probably he was at the canteen".

Gatt was said to have followed regular training programmes to become a fork-lift operator and a rail-mounted gantry crane operator. But his injuries lost him the post he was aspiring for and subsequently put down from Grade F to Grade D. The transfer cost the plaintiff a loss of €19,200 in salaries since 2005.

Madame Justice Anna Felice concluded that given the lack of supervision during Gatt's training, the responsibility of the incident lies with Malta Freeport.