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Del Monte held liable for workers injured in contract transport crash
A section of the expansive Del Monte farm. High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna upheld a decision holding Delmonte liable for injuries sustained by its workers in the crash.
Del Monte (K) Limited has lost a bid to free itself from liability for injuries sustained by its workers while being ferried to its premises by a contracted transport firm some 11 years ago.
High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna upheld a decision by Senior Resident Magistrate that the food processing company was liable for the injuries sustained by its workers in the crash.
“The transporter, although, it had by the said contract been contracted as an independent contractor, was the employer's agent and the employer must be held vicariously liable for the accident. These employees, as mere passengers, could not be held liable for the defects of the vehicle nor for the slipperiness of the road it plied,” the judge said.
“For those, liability had to be determined between Del Monte, the employer, and the contractor Metrotrans, the said transporter. I hold Del Monte, the appellant, wholly liable for the accident, the exclusion clauses in the transport contract notwithstanding. Its liability being assessed at one hundred percent,” Justice Sifuna said in his October 29, 2024 decision.
The appeal arose from a 2013 accident involving nine Del Monte employees. The workers, including Bernard Masinde, the respondent in the case, were being transported in a bus owned by Metrotrans, contracted by Del Monte to shuttle employees. The bus driver lost control of the vehicle, and it crashed, causing injuries to Mr Masinde and others.
Mr Masinde, along with other injured workers, filed individual suits against Del Monte in the Kandara Magistrate’s Court, alleging the company had failed in its duty to provide safe transport. Mr Masinde specifically sought both general and special damages for his injuries.
Del Monte denied liability, arguing that Metrotrans was an independent contractor and that the company could not be held responsible for the transport provider’s negligence.
In its defence, Del Monte submitted the March 1, 2013, transport contract with Metrotrans, contending that the responsibility for the bus and its safety fell entirely with the transportation company.
The lower court, however, disagreed and found Del Monte liable for the workers’ injuries. Del Monte appealed the ruling, contesting the trial court’s interpretation of employer liability.
In dismissing the appeal, Justice Sifuna has found that Del Monte had a non-delegable duty (one that cannot be transferred or delegated to another) to provide safe transport for its employees.
The judge said that all employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment as well as a safe system and processes of work to their employees.
“Del Monte, the employer, ought to have ensured that it at all times provides these employees with a safe work environment, and where it provided them with transport, it ought to have ensured that the same was safe from mischief or danger,” the court said.
Citing past court decisions, the judge has emphasised that an employer can still be held liable if the independent contractor performs tasks critical to the employer’s operations.
In this case, the transportation of employees directly impacted Del Monte's business and was deemed part of the company’s responsibilities.
The court rejected Del Monte’s argument that exclusion clauses in its contract with Metrotrans absolved it of responsibility, stating that workers could not be held responsible for issues such as mechanical defects in the bus or road conditions.
