The heirs of a man who died following an incident at the Malta Drydocks in 1991 have been awarded Lm20,500 in compensation after a Civil Court ruled that the company’s management was solely responsible for his death.

The court, presided over by Mr Justice Raymond Pace, heard how Grezzju Galea, who at the time was 56 years old, was working on a crane on 11 November 1991 between the quay and a ship when a large plank of wood being used as a fender broke lose and hit him on the head, causing serious injuries. Mr Galea was rushed to hospital but died some time later.

Investigations revealed that the fender broke off because the nails which were used were rusty and gave way. The court ruled that Malta Drydocks had failed to carry out the proper maintenance of these fenders, pointing out that a number of other fenders had previously fallen too.

Following the incident, the company had paid the heirs Lm8,639 in respect of life cover and Lm5,759 from a personal accident insurance cover but Mr Galea’s relatives did not accept this amount as a full and final settlement.

Subsequently they filed a case in the First Hall of the Civil Court, which ruled that the company was solely responsible for the incident that claimed Mr Galea’s life. It therefore ordered the company to pay Mr Galea’s heirs Lm20,457.