A former port worker has been awarded €31,400 in damages after suffering an eight per cent disability in an accident on a ship at the Malta Freeport in August 2008.

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul ruled that although Francis Cutajar was not a Malta Freeport Terminals Limited employee, he was carrying out duties for the firm and had not been given safety gear and protective clothing. 

He was ruling in a claim for compensation filed by Mr Cutajar, who at the time of the incident on August 13, 2008, was 58 years old, against the Freeport. 

The court heard how Mr Cutajar was carrying out a job, known as lashing, on the CMA CGM Condor when he lost his balance and fell a height of one storey. He suffered an eight per cent disability and spent five months away from work. 

The court noted how Mr Cutajar was working at the edge and had fallen backwards onto a passageway on the same ship. 

In calculating compensation owed, Mr Justice Ellul noted how Mr Cutajar was injured three years before he was due to reach pensionable age.

Since Mr Cutajar retired in December 2010, Mr Justice Ellul awarded him a total of €31,354 by way of compensation.