Three fined after fall paralyses worker in Dubai

Three people found negligent over a consturction worker's fall from scaffolding that left him paralysed are fined Dh1,000 each.

DUBAI // Three people found negligent over a construction worker's fall from scaffolding that left him paralysed from the neck down have been fined Dh10,000 each.

The worker NM, 54, from India, was eight-feet above the ground carrying out maintenance work on a villa in the Green Community when he lost balance and fell to the ground.

He lost consciousness and was taken to Rashid Hospital, where he was found to have suffered severe haemorrhaging in the brain, blood clots and a fractured skull. The injuries he sustained in the fall left him unable to move any of his body below the neck. He remained in hospital for nearly four months before being discharged on a stretcher.

Prosecutors told the Misdemeanours Court the incident happened on January 16 last year at about 3.30pm. They charged the worker's supervisor RJ, 38, a Filipino, his compatriot MJ, an electrician, and JR, 30, a civil engineer from India, with posing a risk to the man's safety.

A Dubai Municipality report blamed the incident on lack of safety equipment and lack of proper supervision, noting that the worker was not wearing a safety harness at the time.

In court, all three men denied the charges.

The electrician said he was with the worker seconds before he fell. "He came to me and asked me for a battery for one of the devices he used then he left and I resumed my work just to hear a loud bang moments later." When he saw the worker lying motionless on the ground he called his supervisor.

The electrician said the company did not provide safety gear for the workers.

However, the supervisor contradicted him, saying: "I don't know why he was not wearing his safety gear, but I know that the company provides all workers with safety gear."

The supervisor said that by the time he arrived at the site police were already there.