In every establishment, especially in firms where workers are exposed to hazards, and the risk of injury is high, it is important for the workers to understand that their employers owe them a duty of care and protection from unnecessary risks. This duty is discharged by ensuring that safety standards are upheld at the workplace and that relevant steps are taken to ensure the protection of workers. These steps include provision of personal protective equipment and necessary work tools, adequate training, medical care and support in the event of injury, and a conducive work environment, among others.
The recent story of one Mr. John Edeh may move you to tears. I briefly discuss below his case against his former employers, Dingshengyuan Plastic Processing and Manufacturing Company Ltd, and the ultimate decision of the National Industrial Court, Lagos Division, delivered on 29 July 2026.
Mr. John Edeh v Dingshengyuan Plastic Processing and Manufacturing Company Ltd
(Suit No: NICN/LA/346/2024)
Facts
Mr. Edeh was employed on 2nd of August 2024 by Dingshengyuan—a company in the business of plastic processing and manufacturing. He was engaged as a machine operator without any formal training and no letter of employment. Within barely a few days of employment, he was given a machine to man without caring if he was man enough for the task.
On 10th of August 2024, about 8 days into his employment, tragedy struck. An accident occurred which caused Mr. Edeh severe injuries. The company abandoned him. As expected, he sued the company to court. The company ignored the suit but had itself to blame. According to Mr. Edeh’s story to the Court, while he was on overtime night shift, and on his duty operating the machine, the machine malfunctioned and crushed three of his fingers on his right hand.
Mr. Edeh further linked the physical cause of the machine’s malfunction to the company’s direct involvement. He narrated that the machine was built to use two fuses but the company had secretly removed one fuse in order to cut cost and to use the removed fuse on another machine. According to him, the machine would never function well in operation with only one fuse. The company was informed of the incident and injury suffered by Mr. Edeh but it was reluctant to intervene until the police were involved. He was eventually admitted to the hospital where he received treatment. Surgery was recommended.
According to Mr. Edeh, upon realising the high cost of the surgery (estimated at N4,500,000), the company sought to have him discharged under the false pretense of moving him to a better hospital. On their way, the company paid Mr. Edeh off with N500,000. This was how it happened: ‘On our way, they stopped at an unknown place to me and threatened that if I and my colleague do not take the earlier mentioned offer of N500,000, that they will abandon us at that road and leave. And after much frustration, intimidation, coercion and fear, we agreed to collect the said N500,000 and the said money was paid to us via a roadside POS operator’. Mr. Edeh eventually returned to the company but was pushed out and warned never to return to the company again.
The injury he sustained deteriorated until ‘the fingers started to rot, emitting maggots and offensive smell’. Mr. Edeh sought advanced orthopedic intervention at National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi Lagos but was constrained by funds. He eventually lost his three fingers permanently. Aggrieved, he sued the company claiming damages. The company, as Defendant, filed no defence and did not participate in the court proceedings.
Court’s Decision
Notwithstanding that the company filed no defence, the Learned Trial Judge, Hon. Justice Joyce A. O. Damachi, took time to consider the facts and evidence presented by the Claimant, Mr. Edeh. The evidence include pictures of the injury and lost fingers, hospital cards, an invitation letter dated 12/8/2024 from the Ogun State Government Citizens’ Rights Department addressed to the company (but neglected by the company), and a bunch of pharmacy sales invoices indicating the purchase of various medications. The Court had no difficulty in holding the company liable on the strength of the incontrovertible evidence of the Claimant. Damachi J. held:
“There is therefore no oral or documentary evidence from the Defendant to assess or weigh against the Claimant’s evidence. The legal consequence of a defendant’s failure to adduce evidence is that the claimant’s evidence remains unchallenged, and where such evidence is credible and not inherently improbable, the court is bound to accept it as true and act upon it. The court cannot formulate a defence for a party who has chosen to abandon its case.”
The Court found the Claimant’s evidence as credible and held that the company owed him a duty of protection from unnecessary risks at the workplace but failed in discharging that duty:
By removing a vital fuse from the machine to cut costs, thereby causing it to malfunction, and by failing to provide any safety equipment or training to a newly hired employee [Mr. Edeh], the Defendant [Dingshengyuan Plastic Processing and Manufacturing Company Ltd] acted in gross breach of its duty of care.
The Court concluded that Mr. Edeh’s permanent loss of his fingers “was caused by the gross negligence of the Defendant in failing to provide safe working machinery, safe systems of work, and protective equipment.”
The Legal Effect of the N500,000 paid to Mr. Edeh
In the course of the Judgment, the Learned Trial Judge made a crucial finding relating to the N500,000 paid to Mr. Edeh by the company. His Lordship observed that this payment “could be construed as an alternative settlement or a waiver of liability if not properly analyzed.” But commendably, the Court was of the view that this payment to Mr. Edeh could not suffice as a settlement. Damachi J. reasoned:
“This uncontroverted testimony establishes that the transaction was executed under extreme physical and psychological duress while the Claimant was in excruciating pain with rotting fingers. A payment extracted under such coercive and predatory circumstances cannot amount to a voluntary compromise, accord and satisfaction, or a waiver of the Defendant’s liability. It is rather a further demonstration of the breach of the duty of care and unfair labor practices.”
At the end of the case, the Court awarded Mr. Edeh N20 Million as general damages for the permanent physical disability, pain, suffering, loss of amenities of life, and psychological trauma suffered as a result of the Defendant’s negligence. In addition, it awarded the sum of N504,500 as special damages for pharmaceutical expenses, N41,000 (Forty-one Thousand Naira) representing one month’s salary in lieu of notice for constructive termination of employment, and costs of action assessed at N500,000.
Conclusion
As we have seen, employers owe their workers a legal duty of care. Failure to abide by this legal obligation may leave the employer liable for the tort of negligence. Importantly, given that accidents occur and sometimes injuries are inevitable, every employer is required to take steps, in good faith, to ensure that an injured worker receives adequate medical attention and is never abandoned like in the case of Mr. Edeh. Permit me to mention that non-governmental organisations such as Safety Awareness and Well-being Foundation (SAWEF) work in collaboration with relevant agencies and private firms to render assistance to injured workers and to seek and obtain justice against erring employers. In addition, they organise outreach programs for the benefit of victims of occupational accidents in the workplace and workers in the informal sector. As SAWEF’s Co-founder and Lead Coordinator—Dumebi Azubuike—would often say, “every worker deserves to return home safe.” I agree.
