Worker cannot sue employer after Perkeso payout, says court

 Sessions court dismisses crane operator’s suit against company and two others over a workplace accident, after he received nearly RM47,000 in temporary disability payments.

Sessions court judge Norzafirah Ali said Ng Poh Guan failed to prove that either Iconic Construction Sdn Bhd or Iconic Development Sdn Bhd was responsible for the injuries he suffered at work.

BUTTERWORTH:

A crane operator who received nearly RM47,000 in temporary disability payments for a work-related injury cannot sue his employer for damages arising from the same accident, the sessions court here has ruled.

Sessions court judge Norzafirah Ali said Section 31 of the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969 prevented workers covered by the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) from making a civil claim against their employers over injuries suffered at work.

Norzafirah issued the ruling over a suit filed by Ng Poh Guan, 63, who said he slipped and fell while climbing down a crane at a construction site in Seberang Perai Selatan on Jan 3, 2020.

Ng sued his employer, Great Piling Sdn Bhd, as well as Iconic Construction Sdn Bhd and Iconic Development Sdn Bhd, claiming the three companies were responsible for the accident.

However, the court said he had received RM46,978.66 in temporary disability payments from Perkeso between January 2020 and March 2021, preventing him from suing Great Piling over the same workplace injuries.

Norzafirah noted that the same rule did not automatically protect Iconic Construction and Iconic Development because they were not Ng’s employers, and that he could have succeeded against them had he proven they were responsible for the site or had contributed to the accident.

However, the court found that Iconic Construction only took over the site on Feb 18, 2020, more than a month after the incident, and that Iconic Development was not in charge of the site at the time.

The site was then under a different company, which had hired Great Piling to carry out piling work.

The court said neither Iconic Construction nor Iconic Development had direct control over Ng or the crane, and Ng had, therefore, failed to prove that either company was responsible for his injuries.

Ng’s suit against all three companies was dismissed. He was ordered to pay RM5,000 in costs to Great Piling and RM2,500 each to Iconic Construction and Iconic Development.

Lawyer Lim Ee Theng appeared for Ng, while P Paannimalar appeared for Great Piling, and S Parameswaran appeared for Iconic Construction and Iconic Development. - FMT