RBC Royal Bank (T&T) has been ordered to pay almost $300,000 in compensation to a former employee, who was seriously injured after slipping and falling at the bank’s Independence Square branch in 2017.
Justice Ricky Rahim ordered the compensation for Jiselle Paul yesterday, as he upheld her negligence claim against the bank.
According to the evidence in the case, the incident occurred on December 14, 2015.
Paul, an audit officer in the branch’s Internal Control Unit, attempted to wash a spoon after making a cup of tea in her department’s staff kitchen when she slipped and fell near the sink.
Paul suffered injuries to her head and leg and missed several months of work.
In her claim, Paul alleged that the bank was negligent in failing to provide a safe working environment, as she suggested that the liquid she slipped on in the kitchen was due to a shallow sink installed there.
In defence of the case, the bank claimed that similar sinks were installed in other kitchens in the building and it received no complaints of wet floors due to them.
In deciding the case, Rahim noted that he was not satisfied that the accident was caused by the spillage of water from the kitchen sink.
He noted that Paul assumed the sink was the source of the water but could not say so conclusively.
However, he noted that Paul’s case did not fail based on the finding.
“Be that as it may, the court is satisfied that the Claimant slipped on liquid that was present on the floor close to the sink regardless of the nature of the liquid,” he said.
In determining whether the bank had breached its duty of care to Paul, Rahim considered the fact that it admitted that its janitorial staff would only clean up spills after receiving reports from employees.
“The facts of the present case demonstrate that the Defendant had full managerial control over the kitchen, with the responsibility to maintain not only the sinks but also to ensure that there were periodic checks of the kitchen from time to time so as to make it a safe work environment, particularly having regard to the nature of the activities that are likely to occur in the kitchen,” Justice Rahim said.
In assessing the compensation owed to Paul, Justice Rahim had to consider the evidence of medical experts summoned by both parties and upheld the testimony of Paul’s expert, who claimed that her injuries were long-lasting.
“In the court’s view, having examined the medical evidence, the claimant appears to be in a position in which she will have to live with the uncertainty of treatment and the fluctuations in pain for the rest of her life,” Rahim said.
While Rahim noted that while the pain experienced by Paul had gradually lessened since the incident, he noted she was still entitled to compensation for the five years of pain and suffering she had to endure.
He awarded $180,000 in damages.
Justice Rahim also ruled that Paul was entitled to almost $100,000 in compensation over missing out on promotion while she was not active in work for a year and a half.
After considering colleagues with similar experience who were promoted during the period, Rahim said: “In the face of all the circumstances, therefore, the court is of the view that had the injury not intervened it is not only more likely than not but highly so that the Claimant would have been promoted to supervisor.”
As part of his decision, the bank was also ordered to pay Paul’s legal costs for bringing the lawsuit.
Paul was represented by Larry Lalla, while Ravindra Nanga and Alana Bissessar represented RBC.
