Electrocuted construction worker caused own death, court says

The widow and son of a construction worker who was electrocuted in a freak workplace accident have lost a claim for compensation after a court held that the victim himself was responsible for his tragic death.

Joseph Borg died in 2002 while pouring concrete on the roof of a building in Mtarfa when the crane arm from which the drum of ready-mix was suspended touched an unshielded overhead power cable.

Borg’s widow and son filed a claim against Enemalta and crane operator Charles Bonello in 2005, claiming the defendants’ negligence and unskillfulness had led to the man’s death.

Judge Silvio Meli, presiding the First Hall of the Civil Court noted however, that a report on the accident, compiled by court-appointed experts, had laid the responsibility for the fatality squarely at the feet of the deceased.

Borg had not been wearing protective rubber boots at the time and had failed to observe the position of the crane cable whilst working in the vicinity of live electrical cables. He had also failed to request the defendants to cut the power to the wires or at least cover them with plastic tubing.

Professor Carmel Pule and Architect Richard Aquilina had been asked to prepare a report on the circumstances.

That report established that the accident occurred when the crane’s steel cable touched the exposed live electricity main, causing the metal cement drum to also become live. Borg, who had been wearing wet trainers at the time completed the circuit when he touched the drum.

“From Prof Pule’s in-depth report it emerges with abundant clarity that Joseph  Borg’s death is the fault of no one but, unfortunately, himself,” concluded the report.

The court absolved both the crane operator and Enemalta of responsibility for the man’s death and dismissed the claim.