NAGARAJAN MURUGESAN v GRAND RICH ELECTRICAL & ENGINEERING PTE. LTD. & 2 Ors

Case Significance

Nagarajan Murugesan v Grand Rich Electrical & Engineering Pte Ltd and others [2024] SGHC 36 was decided by Dedar Singh Gill J in the General Division of the High Court on 8 February 2024, in District Court Appeal No 4 of 2023. The appellant, Mr Nagarajan Murugesan, an Indian national and construction labourer, was injured at a worksite after an excavator unexpectedly moved forward and collided into him. He had been employed by the first respondent, Grand Rich Electrical & Engineering Pte Ltd, from 15 January 2019 to 16 May 2019.

The judgment considered the liability of the appellant's employer, the main contractor and a third party whose construction site operated adjacent to the worksite where the accident took place. The second respondent, Yuan Ji Enterprises Pte Ltd, was the main contractor and occupier of the worksite located at Yishun Avenue 7, near Lamp Post 50; the third respondent was Eng Lee Engineering Pte Ltd. The court allowed the appeal to the extent stated in the judgment. The catchwords cover Tort (Negligence, Breach of duty) and Tort (Negligence, Contributory negligence), and the judgment references the Civil Law Act, the Contributory Negligence and Personal Injuries Act and the Evidence Act. The appellant was represented by Hoh Law Corporation; the respondents by PKWA Law Practice LLC and WhiteFern LLC.