A sewage plant worker, aged 55, has been awarded €47,400 by the High Court. This follows a fall on a pathway at the side of a sewage flume (an open gravity chute used for conveying raw sewage) at his place of work.
Mr James Kelly from Corville Road, Roscrea, Co Tipperary had sued Templemore Town Council as a result of his fall at the plant on February 3rd, 2010. Mr Kelly had been working at the sewage treatment plant, which was being decommissioned, and claimed there had been a failure to provide a safe place of work, in that he had not been provided with appropriate tools to undertake the work operation.
Templemore Town Council in 2017 now come under the Municipal District structure established under the Local Government Reform Act of 2014; thus replacing the earlier sub-county structure of 2010 which is now officially recognised as the Templemore / Thurles Municipal District; one of five such Municipal Districts within the county of Tipperary.
Mr Justice Raymond Fullam, however, in his decision held that Mr Kelly, was 40% responsible for the accident, thus reducing his initial award from €79,000 to €47,400. While the claims were denied, Mr Kelly informed the court that he now suffered from bad head and back ache, which he solely attributed to being a result of the his accident.
Mr Justice Fullam accepted Mr Kelly’s evidence, that there had been an issue with the pumping system at the time, which had allowed sewage waste to overflow from the inlet channel unto the hard standing surrounds of the flume, leading to Mr Kelly’s accident on the day.
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