Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Manual handling

Legal area

Court

3 Aug 2018

WONG SIU WA v. WIN SINO ENGINEERING LTD

Citation

[2018] HKCFI 1663
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI571/2016

Defendant breached its duty by failing to provide a safe system/supervision/manpower for the mooring relocation (1st Accident) and for the transfer from pier to shuttle boat (2nd Accident); plaintiff's pre-existing degeneration did not break causation though it reduced damages; plaintiff found 15% contributorily negligent for the 2nd Accident for failing to secure coils; judgment entered for plaintiff with damages assessed after apportionment and deduction of employee compensation.
7 Jan 2013

TAMANG UDAS v. GLOBAL SUNNY ENGINEERING LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

TAMANG UDAS v. GLOBAL SUNNY ENGINEERING LTD AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI732/2011

Court found the plaintiff injured at work on 4 November 2010 while carrying two metal scaffolds; defendants breached duties (insufficient training/supervision and failure to provide information/risk measures) and are 80% liable, plaintiff 20% contributorily negligent; plaintiff reached maximal medical improvement with residual restrictions; pre-existing spinal degeneration warranted a 30% reduction to PSLA and loss of earning capacity and halving the future-earnings multiplier from 14 to 7; damages assessed accordingly with credit for employees' compensation and interest and costs ordered.
16 Dec 2011

WONG CHING YAU v. GROUP YIELD INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LTD t/a FEDERAL RESTAURANT

Citation

WONG CHING YAU v. GROUP YIELD INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LTD t/a FEDERAL RESTAURANT
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV76/2010

On the facts the manual operation of rolling the 25-lb glass turntable into a purpose-built cabinet with a full-width rubber mat did not present a reasonably foreseeable risk requiring further precautions; the employer had complied with relevant OSHO Regulations (or any non-compliance would not have changed the system), therefore there was no negligence or causal breach and the plaintiff's appeal on liability is dismissed.
28 Jan 2011

GURUNG BHAKTA BAHADUR v. GREEN VALLEY LANDFILL LTD

Citation

GURUNG BHAKTA BAHADUR v. GREEN VALLEY LANDFILL LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI333/2009

Court found defendant negligent for failing to provide proper instruction/supervision on moving the novel mobile scaffold; plaintiff performed a wrong manoeuvre (pushing up and away from the slope) because he had not been properly instructed; plaintiff's injury was caused by that negligence; there was no contributory negligence; damages were assessed and employees' compensation to be deducted.
8 Sept 2008

LIU WAI LEUNG v. ASIA CONSTRUCTION CO LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

LIU WAI LEUNG v. ASIA CONSTRUCTION CO LTD AND ANOTHER
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI501/2008

On the balance of probabilities the plaintiff failed to prove negligence or breach of statutory duties: his evidence was inconsistent and unreliable on key points; the shovelling task was routine and within his experience with available training; no real foreseeable risk existed that would have required additional preventive measures under OSHR; breaches, if any, did not causally contribute to the injury, therefore defendants not liable.
7 Jul 2008

CHAN MAN WUN v. SHING CHEONG HONG SERVICES LTD

Citation

CHAN MAN WUN v. SHING CHEONG HONG SERVICES LTD
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI2450/2007

The application to amend was allowed because the proposed amendments relied on the same facts, any prejudice to the defendant from lateness could be compensated by costs and a short adjournment (one to two months) was acceptable to ensure the matter is decided on its merits.
28 Jan 2005

AHMED MASOOD v. CHUNG KAU ENGINEERING CO LTD

Citation

AHMED MASOOD v. CHUNG KAU ENGINEERING CO LTD
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI517/2003

The court found the defendant breached its non-delegable duty to provide a safe system of work and statutory duties by permitting and not preventing the hazardous practice of single workers carrying five long heavy pipes, failing to carry out risk assessment or give appropriate instructions/training (including accounting for the plaintiff's language limitation); the breach caused the plaintiff's back injury; contributory negligence was not established; plaintiff entitled to damages as assessed.
10 Apr 2003

LAM WAI CHI v. PROJECT CONCERN HONG KONG

Citation

LAM WAI CHI v. PROJECT CONCERN HONG KONG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI78/2002

Judge found plaintiff not credible and that defendant met its duty as a matter of reasonable practicability by assigning three trained persons and reasonably assessing the task; Tang did give a signal and there was no proven failure of coordination or breach of Cap.509/Cap.509A causally linked to the injury; claim dismissed.