Marina Matykina, a long-time store clerk at Babaevsky Confectionery Company in Moscow since 2019, faced a serious accident on September 30 of the previous year. While performing her routine duties, she was handling goods when she slipped, landed on her back, and immediately felt excruciating pain. She did not seek medical care right away, hoping the pain would pass, and continued working through the initial hours of pain.
In a conversation with socialbites.ca, she explained that pain in her back spread to her legs within a week, and pain relief from medications no longer helped. Only then did she go to the emergency department, after which she was transported by ambulance to the hospital. There, she was diagnosed with a fracture of the thoracic and lumbar spine and was admitted for treatment. She recalls that she needed an official disability determination document, a certificate of occupational injury, but Babaevsky’s management refused to issue it. The company also declined to recognize the incident as an industrial injury, arguing that there was no documentary evidence of an accident at work. Although the fall occurred ten days before she sought medical help, the employer contended that the injury did not originate at work. Marina maintains that she informed colleagues about the workplace fall immediately and that there were witnesses to the event.
Refusing to accept the employer’s stance, Matykina pursued a formal claim for compensation through the courts. She told socialbites.ca that her request is currently being considered alongside a separate claim for moral damages. In court, it was discussed that the publication urged Matykina to challenge the act of not recognizing an industrial injury and to compel Babaevsky to issue a new act reflecting a serious workplace accident, as well as to claim moral damages in the amount of 500 thousand rubles from the enterprise. In addition to non-pecuniary damages, she intends to seek reimbursement for medical treatment costs and legal fees from the employer. She stated that she plans to pursue compensation for treatment and court costs and hopes for recovery, noting that treatment is ongoing and the total amount remains uncertain. The publication does not represent the company’s official position, but a request for comment was sent to Babaevsky’s management.
The Moscow Meshchansky Court has scheduled a merits hearing for April 20. Babaevsky Confectionery Company is among the oldest and largest confectionery enterprises in Moscow and Russia. According to the company’s official materials, the Concern has been part of the United Confectioners holding since 2003, with Grayson-M JSC owning a majority stake. The latest financial reports indicated that the Babaevsky Concern reported substantial revenue in 2020, exceeding nine billion rubles.