An appeal court has ruled that the dairy company „Pieno žvaigždės must pay more than €36,000 in damages to a former worker who worked in harmful conditions for more than 30 years.

The former employer will have to pay €26,000 in material damages and €10,000 in non-material damages, the court said.

The woman, who brought the claim for damages before the regional court, claimed that she was exposed to occupational risk factors throughout her working life, contracted occupational diseases as a result of her work without protective equipment, lost her ability to work, and eventually lost her job and her income because of her deteriorating health.

The Regional Court partially upheld the claim and awarded the claimant more than EUR 27,000 in material damages and almost EUR 5,000 in non-material damages against her former employer.

On Thursday, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal stated that the evidence in the case confirms that the employer's unlawful actions and fault in failing to ensure safe and healthy working conditions led to the employee's deterioration of her health.

After prolonged work in unsafe conditions, the woman was diagnosed with several occupational diseases in the occupational disease certificates, which resulted in an indefinite loss of 45 % of her working capacity.

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal doubled the non-pecuniary damages awarded to the plaintiff by the District Court decision to €10,000.

In determining the amount of non-pecuniary damage, the court took into account the fact that the woman had worked for the company for more than 30 years, that due to the failure to ensure safe and healthy working conditions, she had been diagnosed with as many as four different health disorders, that due to her occupational diseases, she had lost 45% of her working capacity, that her health had been permanently damaged, and that she was suffering the effects of the injuries every day.

In addition, the panel of judges took into account changes in the economic situation of the country, the value of money and the standard of living.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance not to award the applicant any loss of earnings due to the incapacity for work, as the social security benefits received by the applicant compensate for the loss of earnings due to the occupational disease.

However, the Court of Appeal reduced the amount of the material damage to be compensated by EUR 928, since the applicant did not provide evidence that she had paid for the treatment at that level.

This ruling of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania in the civil case became final on Thursday, the day of its adoption, but may be appealed in cassation to the Supreme Court of Lithuania within three months from the day of its adoption.

The case on compensation for damages has been pending in various Lithuanian courts for several years.

The joint stock company „Pieno žvaigždės“ declares that it is one of the largest and most modern dairy processing companies in Lithuania and the Baltic States, striving to be a leader in the production of dairy products, and that it takes into account economic and social aspects in its activities, and that it takes responsibility for the impact of its actions and the consequences of its activities as a market participant, an employer, and a member of the community.

The company owns production branches in Panevėžio pienas, Kauno pienas, Mažeikių pieninė, Pasvalys sūrinė and a logistics centre in Vilnius.