£445 AWARDED

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28702, 27 September 1958, Page 17

£445 AWARDED

Injury To Miner’s Finger A West Coast miner, William Perry Main, aged 56, who injured a finger while driving a winch at the Blackball mine- in May, 1955, was given judgment for £445 9s 2d in the Compensation Court yesterday by Judge Archer. Main, who was represented by Mr W. D. Taylor, of Greymouth, claimed compensation against the Mines Department for the amputation of the finger.

Mr C. M. Roper appeared for the Attorney-General as defendant. In evidence Main said that while driving a winch at the mine in May, 1955, he caught his right index finger in the brake. He had the finger bandaged and carried on work.

In August he went off work but returned for a short while in October. His doctor had told him he could go back to work although at the time the finger was still

discharging. Finally in December, 1956, he went on compensation and remained off work until June. 1957.

He was operated on in the Grey Hospital in February and the first joint of the finger was removed; the whole finger was later amputated and on April 29 after the finger stump had been discharging he had a further operation. James Leslie Will, an orthopaedic surgeon, said he had examined Main in February this year and in his opinion it was reasonable to suppose that this comparatively trivial injury had led to amputation of the finger. Mr Roper submitted that the pulp space infection of Main’s finger was quite unconnected with the accident in May, 1955. X-ray examinations showed that the bone damage was consistent with a flesh injury of a duration of six weeks, but not with an injury which had occurred 15 weeks before. This damage could have been caused by a slight scratch, prick or cut.

Lyttelton Flower Show.—Mrs L. Luxton was the winner of the trophy for the most outstanding exhibit at the Lyttelton Horticultural Society's spring flower show.