A firm has been fined a whopping £2.2m after a worker fell from a platform and was killed
Decco Ltd has been fined £2.2m for safety failings that led to the death of an employee. The incident occurred at the firm’s premises in Chesham, Buckinghamshire in 2014.
The worker, William Richardson, received fatal brain injuries after falling eight feet from a wet, wooden unguarded platform at the premises. According to the case presented to the court the spring-loaded gates in place to protect the platform edge were worn.
Richardson fell while unloading pallets when he slipped on the wet platform. He was in a coma for eight days after hitting the concrete floor below but subsequently died.
The judge presiding over the case said there were “breathtaking” failures in recognising the hazards and threats to safety.
In an earlier hearing in March, the firm admitted to two breaches of the Health & Safety Act. The company was fined £2.2 million—a reduction on the original fine of £3.3 million because of the early guilty plea.
In passing sentence Judge Sheridan said: “The design was a Heath Robinson do-it-yourself contraption, in my view. The whole of the edge was unguarded which was simply disgraceful. This was an obvious danger.
“With or without safety advice, it would be idiotic to proceed without having regard to that.
“One doesn’t need guidance, one just needs a modicum of common sense to realise this system was wholly inadequate and a disaster waiting to happen.
“Those responsible for this company should hang their heads in shame at the failings that led to a man’s death.”
