Accident at work death results in £75k fineRSS Feed

An accident at work that caused the death of an employee has left Comet facing a £75,000 fine.

Electrical chain store Comet has been ordered to pay the fine and around £25,000 in costs after the Judge, his honour Rhys Rowlands, described it as an "accident waiting to happen".

The case stems from the death of Paul Alker at the firm's Wrexham store in 2007.

He was carrying out roofing work for Comet, which admitted that it did not ensure his safety after a previous hearing in which it came to light that the firm did not provide Mr Alker with a suitable harness.

Presiding at Mold Crown Court, Judge Rowlands commented: "If anyone would have visited the site it would have been immediately apparent that there were totally unacceptable risks being taken.

"In my judgment, this really was an accident waiting to happen."

The case follows a recent report from the Health and Safety Executive that showed 13 people died in accidents at work in the East Midlands between April 1st 2009 and March 31st 2010.

Accident claims advice from Serious Law

Posted by M Heap

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