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Deaths in 2001
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS Michael David Lamb
Michael got onto the roof of a factory building and was seen to jump. He died as a result of injuries when he went through the roof. The inquest was held at Manchester Coroner’s Court on 29 November 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. William Byron
William, a dumper driver, died while driving the truck on the bank of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Wigan. The inquest was held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court on 29 October 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Harry Hurst
Harry died after falling approximately 4 feet down a lift-shaft in a wheelchair. The inquest was held at North Manchester Coroner’s Court on 25 June 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Thomas Taylor
Thomas, a factory owner, died after falling through a skylight on his own factory roof. The inquest
was held at Manchester North Coroner’s Court on 30 October 2001.
A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Hilda Higson
Hilda, a Multiple Sclerosis sufferer, slipped head-first behind her bedside cabinet after falling through a gap in the railings between the side of the bed and the bedhead and died of asphyxiation. She was at the time under the care of the Bolton NHS Trust Community Healthcare who were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE representative at the inquest claimed there had been 13 similar deaths where people had been trapped in the previous five years. The inquest was held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court on 15 October 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. All the care workers and auxiliary nurses stated that they were not aware of any risk assessment done about Hilda and her use of the bed. Prior to her death, none had any training in the correct positioning of the cot sides in relation to the bedhead.
Michael Adison
Michael, a manual worker, died when he was crushed under a wagon The inquest was held at Manchester South Coroner’s Court on 20 March 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Benjamin Oakley
Benjamin, a factory worker, died from injuries after his overalls got caught in machinery. The inquest was held at North Manchester Coroner’s Court on 21 February 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Malcolm France
Malcolm, a a maintenance engineer, died of severe head injuries after a hydraulic door crashed down upon him. The inquest was held at Manchester South Coroner’s Court on 11 March 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Malcolm, known to his colleagues as ‘Mr Safety’ was attempting to remove pieces of rubber from the inside of a mixer when the hydraulic door crashed into his skull, the inquest heard. The hearing was told the machine door had caused problems in the past and had even resulted in another worker having his finger lacerated. It was also claimed that workers were under pressure to meet targets in order to earn bonus payments. Bernard Watt, a process worker from Cheadle Heath, told the jury, 'Malcolm’s death was an accident waiting to happen.' But head engineer Kevin Perry said he was unaware of any extra pressure on the engineers. Raymond Gray, quality and health and safety manager at Sovereign Rubber, said he knew there had been problems with the door but wasn’t aware of how the seal was being cleaned. Operator Mark Walsh told the coroner he discovered the body as he checked for the first batch of rubber to come through. The inquest was also told that a key was missing from the safety mechanism and it was unclear whether or not a sign had been placed on the machine to warn others that maintenance was being carried out. In May 2004 Sovereign Rubber Ltd were fined a total of £175,000 plus £20,000 costs after pleading guilty at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court to three charges arising from two incidents., Malcolm's death and the incident three weeks earlier, on 10 October 2001, when his colleague Lee Williams had suffered severe lacerations to his hand while dealing with the same machine but this accident was not reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Sovereign Rubber was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 costs in relation to two charges under Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and one charge of Regulation 3(2) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. David Laurence Wilcox, a director of Sovereign Rubber Ltd, had previously pleaded not guilty to a personal charge under Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act in relation to the death of Mr France. The case was scheduled to be heard before Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 17 January 2005.
Patrick Morris
Patrick was crushed to death by heavy metal shutters he and friends were 'riding' on as they rolled up and down at the DVLA office car park in Old Trafford. His friends rushed to his parents' home ito raise the alarm, but Patrick, who was freed by firemen, was pronounced dead at the scene. The inquest was held at Manchester South Coroner’s Court on 14 October 2002. A friend told how Patrick and a smaller boy were riding on the door at the same time. ''The smaller boy fell off the door as it rose up,'' he said, ''and Patrick turned round to see what had happened to him. But he stayed on the door himself and that's when his fingers became trapped and he couldn't get out.' The jury returned a verdict of 'Misadventure'. Through slots in the shutters, motorist Stephen North told the hearing he saw Patrick and a pal jump on. The other boy jumped off and screamed as Patrick was crushed to death as he was dragged into the shutter mechanism. He saw Patrick was unconscious and unresponsive and another motorist dialled 999. The boy was only released from the mechanism two hours later. A friend of Patrick had played on the doors in the same way a year before the November 1 incident, the inquest heard. A youngster told a police officer that children jumped off before the shutters reached the top, and if two jumped on to it at the same time it would jam. He said he had never seen Patrick play the game before. The inquest jury at Stockport was told the owner of the car park, Bruntwood Estates, had installed the shutters 13 or 14 months before the incident to prevent vandalism. Health and Safety inspectors issued improvement and prohibition notices after the death. Adrian Wallace, representing Bruntwood, said the improvements were carried out within three months. He said the company had been responsible and had co-operated with the authorities investigating the incident. Manchester South Coroner John Pollard said Patrick and his friend simply wanted to have some fun by jumping on and off the shutters. But before the jury returned with a misadventure verdict, Patrick's mum, Kathleen McGlacken told the Coroner she thought only half the story had been told. She claimed the shutters were a 'death trap'. She said her son was 'not a climber' and was 'frightened of fairground rides'.
Sayeeda and Nazreen Chowdhury
Sayeeda, a mother of four, and her 9 year old daughter Nazreen were killed in a fire at the family dress shop in Salford. The family had been a target for violence and intimidation for many years but investigators determined that no suspicious circumstances surrounded the fire. Mother and daughter died when an electrical heater set fire to clothing in the family dress shop. Sayeeda and Nazreen were trapped in the building in Langworthy Road, Salford. The inquest was held at West Manchester Coroner’s Court on 22 May 2002. Assistant Coroner Simon Nelson recorded verdicts of 'Accidental Death' in both cases.
Michael Dutton
Michael, a lift engineer, died from asphxiation after he was trapped in a lift shaft between the lift and the ground floor sill while carrying out safety checks. Michael worked for an unnamed subcontractor to the main contractor John Mowlem. The incident occured at the Oldham Art Gallery. The inquest was held at North Manchester Coroner’s Court on 20 and 21 March 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Robert Lewis
Robert a 45 year old demolition worker, died from conditions suspected to result from a fall he had off a roof in February 2000 which left him with a severed spinal cord and tetraplegic The inquest
was held at North Manchester Coroner’s Court on 27 May 2002. Verdict
unavailable.
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