[1985]DLCA911 • May 29, 1985 • Court of Appeal
EKEM vs. WISEWAY CLEANERS LTD
On 12 January 1979, Isaac Ekem, an employee of Wiseway Cleaners Ltd, sustained fatal injuries operating a hydroextractor machine at the company's dry-cleaning establishment in Takoradi. The machine, designed to extract water from wet clothing by high-speed rotation, had a safety interlocking device and footbrake, both found defective after the accident. The deceased attempted to stop the machine using unorthodox means due to the faulty brakes, resulting in fatal injuries. The personal representative of the deceased sued for negligence and breach of statutory duty.
read moreJUDGMENT OF FRANCOIS JSC On 12 January 1979 a fatal accident occurred at the respondents’ dry-cleaning establishment at Takoradi. An employee, Isaac Ekem, who the respondent claimed to have acquired requisite experience in the working of the respondent-company’s laundry equipment, sustained fatal injuries while operating an extractor machine. An action for negligence and breach of statutory duty was brought by the personal representative of the deceased in the High Court, Sekondi. It failed. The present appeal is the sequel of that lack of success. It is necessary to state briefly the working of the machine the deceased was operating, as far as can be gleaned from the record, to enable a proper assessment of the viability of the appellant’s claim to be made. The machine was a hydro-extractor which, as the name implies, extracts water from wet clothing by its high velocity revolutions. It functions this way: Wet garments are fed into a basket attached to the machine. Wh...