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Deaths
in 2004
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS
Patrick was crushed to death when a platform connected to a building at the new Wembley Stadium fell 100 ft onto him as he worked below. A crane had snagged on the platform and disconnected it from the building. Another worker was taken to the Central Middlesex Hospital with leg injuries, arising from the same incident. The Health and Safety Executive said two inspectors had been sent to the site to investigate. Multiplex Construction UK is the company responsible for the design and building of the new stadium. Bob Blackman, Transport and General Workers' Union National Secretary for construction, confirmed that both men were T&G members. George Brumwell, general secretary of the building workers union UCATT, said, 'This is a terrible tragedy and our sympathies are with the family. This is happening far too often in the construction industry.' The T&G press release pointed out that construction remains one of the most dangerous industries to work in, and that the union continues to campaign to make UK's workplaces safer. The inquest was held at the London North Coroner's Court on 1 November 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. In March 2009 at the City of London Magistrates Court PC Harrington pleaded guilty to health and safety charges relating to Patrick's death The company faced an unlimited fine at the Old Bailey, where the case was due to be heard on May 1 2009.
Jason Lesaux
Jason fell through a hole that had been created so that materials could be raised up through the building on a site in Queen Gardens in Paddington. No edge protection had been erected around the opening, and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors found several areas on the site where workers could have fallen considerable distances. An inquest took place at Westminster Coroners Court on 12 May 2004 when a narrative verdict was returned: Jason fell from the fourth floor in a house that was being renovated and where he was paid to work at the time and the safety aspects for working were very dangerous. HSE investigations led to successful prosecutions of property developers Jeremy Freeman, Simon Freeman, Anne Freeman, and contractor David J Mitchinson at the Old Bailey, London for breaches of health and safety regulations. The four defendants received fines totalling £100,000 plus costs of £40,000. A prohibition notice was issued by the HSE after the incident, closing the site. Following sentencing HSE inspector Kevin Shorten, one of the investigators, said, 'This is one of the worst sites I have ever seen. Small sites are the most dangerous and it is important that the contractor is sufficiently resourced to comply with safety regulations.' Ignoring regulations and advice on safety practices can directly contribute to somebody's death, he added. In summing up the case Judge Stone commented that the breaches of regulations had arisen from a desire to avoid the trouble and expense of a safe delivery of the project. The HSE commented that falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury and the second most common cause of major injury to employees. Provisional data showed that 31 fatalities were as a result from height during 2004/5 and 36 during 2003/4.
Keith Webb
Keith was working on the 'raw sugar jetty' at the Tate & Lyle Thames refinery. The incident occurred when Keith was unable to safely enter the hold of the ship he was unloading via the ship's ladder and instead was inside a tracked vehicle (digger) suspended by a crane over the river being lowered towards the hold. The welding that attached the digger's 'hooks eyes' to the crane's hooks and chains broke away from the digger, which fell into the Thames, killing him. Ed Blisset, GMB Senior Organiser said, 'The GMB have been telling the company for over a year that equipment in the 'raw sugar' unloading area was antiquated and dangerous. We have also expressed our concern at Acclaim's working practices, lack of training and high turnover of labour.' The Union would be pursuing compensation claims if Keith's death was caused by either Tate & Lyle or Acclaim and also the imprisonment of the relevant managers and directors of either company, if they were guilty of corporate manslaughter charges, Ed added. The inquest was held at the London East Coroner's Court on 21 April 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Keith's case was in Autumn 2007 still the subject of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation and the Union's compensation claim was outstanding. Gary Wells
Gary Wells was a police officer, participating in a fitness test at St Katherine's Way, Royal Navy Reserves. He collapsed and died during a 'bleep test'. A verdict of death by 'Natural Causes' was returned at the London Inner North Coroner's Court on 19 April 2004. Andrew Clack
Andrew, a delivery driver for Asda, died when he stopped and tried to help two teenage children set ablaze after touching high voltage cables while playing on top of a train at the Temple Mills depot, Leyton (near the Channel Tunnel Rail Link). One of the
youngsters had come into contact with a 25,000-Volt overhead cable which
caused him to suffer a massive electric shock, which usually would have
been fatal. He fell from the train writhing in flames. Andrew saw the
horrific incident and rushed to help from the Asda car park, where he
was working as a delivery driver. The inquest was held at the London East Coroner's Court on 6 October 2005. A verdict of 'Death by Natural Causes' was returned.
John Walsh
John was working at Station Road, Haringey. While moving excavator buckets one bucket from an excavator struck him on the head. The client was the London Borough of Haringey, the principal contractor was Mount Anvil and the concrete contractor, the immediate employer, was P Colohan & Co. Ltd, from Potters Bar. The inquest was held at the London North Coroner's Court on 30 March 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. A CPS investigation took place after the inquest.
Robert Cherry, a bus driver for First Buses (part of Firstgroup plc), died from injuries sustained by being crushed between two buses which crashed at Uxbridge Bus Garage. The bus garage was closed immediately after the incident, and remained closed for the rest of the day. The police said that the collision which was being investigated initially by Alperton traffic unit was subsequently being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. There was no inquest (jurisdiction was West London Coroner's Court).
Sam was a tipper truck driver at World's End Waste in Battersea. He had discharged his load and was closing the tailgate of his pickup lorry when he was hit from behind by the raised bucket of a shovel truck, driven by a trainee driver whose vision was obscured by the raised bucket. A supervisor was taking a toilet break at the time. Sam was crushed against a wall suffering multiple injuries. A 'Narrative Verdict' was returned at the London Inner South Coroner's Court on 11 November 2004. The Health and Safety Executive ( HSE) brought a prosecution at the Old Bailey which resulted in a £100, 000 fine and an order to pay £4,982 costs. The company had pleaded guilty to failing to discharge its duty of care to ensure the safety of employees. The court heard how a succession of safety failings led to Sam's death. The hearing was told of two previous incidents at the yard which has since been sold. HSE Principal Inspector Margaret Pretty said the case showed everyone in the waste transfer industry the importance of planning for workplace transport and having safe systems of in place. 'A one-way traffic system, the use of a banksman and designated pedestrian walkways, all of which were subsequently introduced by the company, may have prevented this fatality.' The presiding
judge said, 'It is a very dangerous practice to drive a shovel truck,
with bucket raised a few feet off the ground, so that the driver's forward
vision is obscured. The penalty should reflect public concern at an unnecessary
loss of life. Companies must be deterred from operating in a slack way.'
Simon Cumbers, a BBC cameraman, was killed on 6 June 2004 when gunmen opened fire on a news team in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was seriously injured in the attack. The two journalists were in the al-Suwaydi suburb of Riyadh with a Saudi government minder when the attack happened. The suburb was known as a militant stronghold and at the time was home to 15 of the 26 most wanted men in Saudi Arabia. The inquest was held at the London West Coroner's Court on 18 April 2006 when a verdict of 'Unlawful Killing' was recorded by the Coroner.
Lunsze Law
Lunsze worked at Delta Wharf, Greenwich, for Rodanto Importers Ltd, a fruit packing company. It is believed that he fell on some stairs. An inquest was held at the London Inner South Coroner's Court at Southwark on 16 September 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Tony was working in his garge from which he ran a car repair business. The London West Coroner's Court decided to hold an inquest without a jury having deemed Tony not to have been at work at the time of the incident.
Issiaka Salawu was working as a doorman at the Elgin Pub in Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill. He was stabbed and killed by a group after he asked a youth sitting outside the pub to put out a cannabis joint. Issiaka was taken to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, but died shortly after arrival. A post-mortem examination at Westminster gave cause of death as massive loss of blood from injuries. Detective Inspector Alistair Tully of the Serious Crime Directorate said witnesses described it as a 'frenzied and vicious attack'. On 14 July 2004 Rachid Reguibi, 23, of Ladbroke Grove, was charged with Issiaka's murder and was due to appear before West London Magistrates' Court. A total of six people were arrested over the death. The other five were bailed until later in July 2004.
Adam Meere and Bill Faust were seriously injured fighting an intense three floor shop fire on Bethnal Green Road. They died soon after arrival at hospital. More than 40 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze. London Fire Brigade Assistant commissioner Malcolm Kelly said that when firefighters arrived at the shop and flats in East London they discovered a 'serious' fire in the clothes shop and basement. He said smoke had reached all floors and was coming out of the windows. Adam and Bill had entered the building wearing breathing apparatus but colleagues had to rescue them. An inquest was held at the London Inner North Coroner's Court on 23 June 2006 and lasted 10 days. The jury deliberated for 50 minutes before blaming communication failures and inadequate water supply for the deaths in a narrative verdict. The court had heard how a catalogue of fatal blunders by Fire Brigade chiefs led to the pair's deaths. Bill and Adam were sent into the fire without radio communications while the East End clothing shop was being ventilated to relieve thick smoke and hot gases, at the same time fuelling the flames that killed them. During the inquest, a senior accident investigation officer revealed that the water supply to their hose had been switched off as the pair tried to battle the blaze, while the second hose reel had been 'burnt through'. The inquest heard fire brigade chiefs had not realised how intense the fire was. As a result, powerful water jets were not used to tackle the flames. The inquest heard 30 minutes passed between the order being given to use a fire hydrant, and the water being used. It was also claimed that the two men were still in the basement when colleagues opened doors and windows to ventilate the building - said to have been followed by a crack and "vroom" sound. The jury said fire chiefs at the scene did not realise ventilation would cause the 'rapid escalation' of the fatal fire. It was claimed the flash-over - the moment when all flammable material ignites simultaneously because of the intense heat - may have killed the men. Bill's family welcomed the ruling and called for present practices to be tightened. His widow, Michelle, said, 'I feel really pleased that justice has been done. The London Fire Brigade should take some huge lessons from this as a lot of their mistakes were hugely unnecessary. This will hopefully stop anyone else going through what we went through. It's a rippling effect. It affects not just close family, but also close friends who have been badly affected by losing two young lives.' Bill's dad, David Faust, added, 'I'm absolutely delighted, not that the result makes any difference to us at all as I have lost my son. But hopefully it will make a difference to the rest of the Fire Brigade who have got to continue to work under this regime.' Adam's father Pat, who had been a fireman himself, said after the verdict, 'I came here two weeks ago with my pride intact. Now I despise the fire brigade for what went on and just want them to say mistakes were made and they will put them right on the strength of what went on.' The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) blasted the London Fire Brigade. Gordon Fielden, FBU regional chairman and its safety representative, said, 'We will be calling on Mayor Ken Livingstone to instigate an independent inquiry. Obviously the FBU has a view on a number of issues that relate to this particular incident, but the underlying causes are that a lack of efficient real training and a change in policy has allowed the operational readiness of the London Fire Brigade to be at the poorest standard it's been for more than 30 years.'
John, a bus driver was testing his bus on 2 July 2004 before leaving the New Cross Bus Garage 208 New Cross Rd when he fell into the inspection pit and broke the neck of his left femur. He was taken to University Hospital, Lewisham and operated upon the next day. Subsequently discharged he was at home when on the 27 July 2004 he collasped and was taken to the hospital where. despite attempts to revive him, he died as a result of a recognised complication An inquest was held at the London Inner South Coroner's Court on 8 December 2004. A 'Narrative' verdict was returned.
Kieron, an experienced steel fixer from Rathmullan, Co. Donegal, employed by Laing O'Rourke, died after falling 12 metres down a lift shaft on the Jemstock Project site at Discovery Dock in the South Quay area of the Isle of Dogs. Kieron had been working on a hydraulic raising JumpForm platform. He fell through a hole covered by a mouldy piece of plywood, fixed down by two nails. Construction union UCATT general secretary George Brumwell on hearing of Kieron's death said, 'Our thoughts are with the family of this young man who fell over 10 metres down a lift shaft to his death, Yet again we see that a fundamental failure to protect workers against the most common risk in our industry, which is falls from height, has robbed a worker of his life.' The union said there had been 20 fatalities on construction sites since 1 April and four of those had occurred in the previous two weeks. George Brumwell added: 'It is time that construction companies recognised that the way forward lies with a partnership approach between workers, their trade unions and employers. The employers should shed their macho image and adopt a policy of working together at site level and actively promoting a caring, sharing approach. Only then do I believe we will start to see a real reduction in the numbers of workers killed, injured or made ill as a result of simply earning a living.' In 2006 Laing O'Rourke admitted responsibility for Kieron's death during a civil claim for compensation. His widow, Jennifer, received £220,000 in compensation. An inquest was held at London Inner North Coroner's Office on 7 February 2007. A verdict of 'Unlawful Killing' was returned. The completion of the inquest meant the Health & Safety Executive was now able to decide on whether to bring a criminal prosecution against the company under the Health and Safety Act 1974. Police were also reinvestigating the incident and company employees could face criminal charges. However, Jennifer was adamant that she wanted the company to assume responsibility and that it would be wrong to point the finger at any one individual who had responsibility for securing the hatch. It was discovered during the investigation that the hatch had only been secured with an old piece of plywood, later found to have wet rot, held together with two nails. Sally Moore, Head of the Accidents and Disasters team at Leigh Day & Co solicitors, had been advising Jennifer on all legal aspects relating to the death including the inquest. Sally commented, 'We are very grateful to the Coroner for conducting a full and thorough investigation. Kieron’s death was the result of Laing O’Rourke’s failure to ensure that on-site health and safety procedures were adhered too. The construction industry needs to put in place more stringent safety controls as they are required to do under the current legislation. The continuing levels of death and injury indicate that this is just not happening.'
Stephen, a street lighting engineer, was crushed by his hydraulic lift on 14 August. With a colleague, Stephen was installing a water pipe when he was trapped between a beam and the basket of the 'cherry picker'. Stephen suffered massive brain damage after he was starved of oxygen for 20 minutes. He died four days later. It is thought his belt may have caught the lever that made the lift rise, leaving Stephen pinned against overhead piping and unable to turn it off. The inquest was held at London West Coroner's Court on 23 September 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Christopher was working on a coned-off contraflow area when an articulated lorry ploughed through the cones and collided with a parked van, which hit him. Christopher was pronounced dead at the scene. The hit-and-run incident took place in the early hours on the eastbound carriageway of the M25 between the A10 junction and the Holmesdale tunnel in Essex. An inquest was held at the London North Coroner's Court on 8 December 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Radostin Stoyanov
Radostin, a Bulgarian agency worker, was crushed under five 8 x 4 feet plywood boards that fell from a load being lowered from a gantry scaffold using a beam hoist at a site on Jermyn St SW1. The boards were slung using two 3m strops in a basket hitch configuration. Radostin died two days later at the Royal London Hospital where he had been flown. The client at the construction site was William Very Facilities Ltd. Radostin, it appears, was employed through a chain of agencies. He was employed by the Dollar Corporation, supplied to Technical HR Ltd who supplied him to Steadberry (1991) Ltd who in turn supplied him to William Verry. An inquest was held at London Inner West Coroner's Court on 17 November 2004 when a narrative verdict was returned. In June 2006 at the City of London Court William Verry (Facilities Management) were fined £8,000 for breaches of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
Richard, a window cleaner, was knocked off a ladder by a moving barrier at the Department of Transport, Horseferry Rd and died later on the same day at Kings College Hospital. Richard was working with his father who was at the bottom of the ladder steadying it while he cleaned windows by an entrance to the car park. A lorry was about to come through the barrier when his father shouted for it to stop, which it did. However it appears the barrier operator did not notice the ladder on his screen and pushed the button for the barrier to be raised - the barrier elevated and hit the ladder causing Richard to fall. An inquest was held at London Inner South Coroner's Office on 14 July 2004. An 'Accidental Death' verdict was returned.
Malcolm worked as a film grip in the film industry. He was crushed by a vehicle and storage containers at his own storage space at Lional Rd, South Brentford, Hounslow. The inquest at the WestLondon Coroner's Court on 7 February 2005 returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.
Tomasz, a Polish construction worker, died from a fall when he took a break from the site where he worked. It appears he was sitting at an open window and fell through. The place where the incident took place was not the same as where he was working. The Health and Safety Executive closed their investigation and did not treat the incident as occupational, as, although he was at work, he was not at his workplace when he fell. The inquest at the London West Coroner's Court on 29 March 2005 returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.
Laurence was unloading pallets of metalwork from the back of a lorry while delivering and was crushed when they fell on him. The incident took place at a Croydon company Saneux. Laurence was working for Eastwoods Plc, possibly in a self-employed capacity through a Romford based agency. An inquest was due to be held at the Southern District of London Coroner's Court.
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