A Doha Criminal Court has ordered a services company and a loader driver to pay fines of QR200,000 and QR10,000, respectively, for negligence that caused the death of a Nepalese worker, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported.
The court also directed both the driver and the company to jointly pay a sum of QR200,000 as blood money to the kin of the deceased, who was killed at a sanitary drainage worksite in the Old Airport Area.
The court said the worker was killed after a huge pipe fell while some work was being carried out. This was an outcome of clear negligence and failure to abide by safety regulations at worksites.
The court cleared two co-workers in the case.
The court had earlier received a report from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, indicating that its inspectors issued a violation report to the company upon inspecting the site of the incident.
The report alleged the company had committed several safety violations, such as not warning the victim about the risks involved in the job and informing about the need to wear personal protection gear.
Besides, the company failed to implement an effective control system that would guarantee a safe work environment. Further, it did not report the incident to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs immediately after it took place, as required by the law. The victim, according to the investigation, died before reaching a hospital.
The loader driver was accused of mishandling his vehicle, which led to the pipe accident.
