Medical experts clash over whether workplace accident or a pre-existing condition caused the pain
A Hong Kong court recently dealt with a personal injury claim brought by a worker who said he injured his back while installing a steel hopper at a construction site in 2015.
The case required the court to determine whether the employer and principal contractor had breached their duties by requiring the worker to handle the equipment manually without lifting machines.
The worker argued that his employer failed to provide a safe system of work, adequate equipment, sufficient manpower, proper instruction, training and supervision for the task.
He claimed damages exceeding HK$4 million for his injuries, asserting that the manual handling of the hopper caused him to sustain a back sprain that left him unable to return to work as a rigger.
The worker was employed as a rigger by the employer at a construction site in Pillar Point, Tuen Mun, where the principal contractor was managing the project.
On 29 June 2015, the then 43-year-old worker was assigned with two co-workers by their foreman to install a steel hopper—a funnel-shaped structure with four sides and an open top that tapered down.
The worker's job duties as a rigger included the transportation of rigging parts and materials as well as their installation.
At about 10:05 am on the day in question, the worker and his co-workers were supposed to put the hopper in an upright position so its tapered...
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