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Deaths in 2001
Deaths in 2001
Deaths in 2002
Click on the names below for further case details
No details available Click on the names below for further case details
Click on the names below for further case details
Click on the names below for further case details
Click on the names below for further case details
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS
Cyril Badenham
Cyril, a lorry driver from Evesham, died in hospital three weeks after being crushed by a lorry with a defective parking brake which rolled out of control. The company was prosecuted for a Road Traffic Offence. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 1 October 2001. The inquest in Leamington Spa heard police evidence that the lorry's parking brake was defective and that UK Plant and Haulage had been summoned to appear in court on the matter. The inquest was told that Mr Bedenham summoned assistance after his vehicle broke down. Paul Shaw, of Victoria Gardens, Warley, said that after he replaced an air brake pipe that had a hole in it, he returned to his van, which was parked in front of the lorry. He then heard the lorry rolling towards him. 'Mr Bedenham was trying to stop the vehicle. He was putting his hands up trying to stop the vehicle from rolling,' said Mr Shaw. 'He was pushing against it.' Mr Shaw jumped into his van to move it out of the way and as he did so he felt an impact at the back. 'Mr Bedenham was stumbling about and could not talk,' said Mr Shaw.PC Keith Jaggard of the road policing unit at Rugby told the inquest that the parking brake on the lorry did not work properly. 'You could pull parking brake on and think it was on when it wasn't,' said PC Jaggard. His comments were supported by a statement by PC George Millward that was read to the inquest. In it he said, 'The park brake should automatically drop into the anchor well. This didn't always happen.' A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was recorded by the coroner Michael Coker.
Back to Table (2006) Derek William Field
Derek, a building labourer, was killed when he was crushed by a digger at his work site. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) David Clark
David, a banksman from Doncaster, was killed when he was struck by a piledriver which collapsed on him at Hams Hall Power Station while constructing a Sainsbury's warehouse. The incident was caused by failure of a welded pin, which was critical to the stability of a piling rig. The part failed and the mast of the rig collapsed on David. David's employer, Cementation Foundations (Skanska) Ltd, is a specialist firm in piling technology based in Doncaster with headquarters at Maple Cross, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. the main contractor. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 28 and 29 April 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. In October 2006 Cementation Foundations (Skanska) Limited was fined £100,000 plus prosecution costs of £32,607 at Warwick Crown Court after pleading guilty to a breach of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees. 'Preventative maintenance should be managed so as to ensure any replacement of critical parts are of good quality and a thorough investigation is done into the reasons for replacement. Systems of work should be arranged so banksmen, working with piling rigs, are kept in a safe position during machine operation. Banksmen should be trained only to approach the machine for necessary operations at planned safe times.'
Back to Table (2006) Paul Glasgow
Paul, a builder from Norwich, died after he fell 20 feet through the skylight of a roof he was dismantling at the Wobbly Wheel Hotel at Warmington near Banbury. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 18 July 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Paul's widow, in a written statement to the coroner, said that her husband had raised concerns about the safety procedures at the site. The Norwich Evening News, covering the inquest, reported how a recent series of random checks on hundreds of building sites showed a quarter fell short of safety guidelines. Sandy Carmichael, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) principal inspector for Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, said, 'We were disappointed to find some sites where poor standards of safety were putting employees at real risk.' Falls from height remain the biggest cause of death and injury in construction in the UK.
Back to Table (2006) David Walton
David, the part owner of a construction firm subcontracting for Westbury Homes, died after being trapped in thick mud in a 12ft deep trench which collapsed due to heavy rains the previous day. David was installing drainage pipes for the Coton Meadows housing estate. Inspector Mike Fawcett of Rugby Police said, 'Apparently it is standard practice that when a trench has been dug, and before the edgings are put in place to stop it caving in, someone jumps into the hole to check the depths. Sadly this man went in and the clay soil collapsed around and on top of him.' The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 18 December 2003 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Stephen Oliver
Stephen was struck by a large industrial digger vehicle and sustained severe head and chest injuries. He was taken by air ambulance to Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham where he died a short time later. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 12 March 2004 when a verdict of Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Pierre Hollander
Pierre, a flier from Balsta, Sweden was killed when flying a replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, built by himself, at the Coventry Classic Airshow on 31 May 2003. The plane plunged 100ft to the ground when its wing broke up. Pierre was taken by air ambulance to Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham where he died from his injuries. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 3 December 2004 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Peter Hudson
Peter, a maintenance engineer, died following an incident at the warehouse premises of his employers in Nuneaton. Peter was working on automated storage equipment. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 27 January 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Robert Clarke
Robert died after falling from a scaffold on a barn conversion at Church Hall Farm at Alderminster. He traded as Period Property Renovations. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 13 March 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Azad Hassaini
Azad died after an incident involving a tractor in a pea field at Hampton Lucy near Stratford upon Avon. Azad had felt unwell and had lain down when the tractor ran over him. Azad was an Iraqi national in the country for 12 months. Azad was taken by ambulance to Warwick hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 27 July 2007 when an 'Open' verdict was returned.
Back to Table (2006) Kim Williams
Kim was found dead, presumed electrocuted, while working as an electrical contractor in a private house. Kim died in the upstairs dressing room of the house in Radford Semele, where he was doing renovation work The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 8 August 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Kim died when his heart stopped because of a huge electric shock, a pathologist told the inquest jury at Leamington Town Hall. Kim had started re-wiring for out-side lights but when the house owner went to check on him he found Kim laying face down on bare floorboards with a deep burn wound on his hand. An electric distributor box was lying near Kim's body and a floorboard had been removed, revealing live wires and copper pipes.
Back to Table (2007) Adam Gilbraith
Adam, a contract worker, was working on the fourth floor of a tower at the Lawford Road site at Rugby Cement Works installing a new bag filter system as part of a silo when a heavy steel plate fell on him. Adam died from serious chest injuries. A colleague was taken to hospital with back injuries but was released the next day. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on 27 November 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. The inquest heard that despite objections from colleagues that the procedure was incorrect, Adam insisted on using bolts and a hoist to lift a seal weighing some three quarters of a tonne to the overhead silo. As Adam and his two colleagues, including his father Frank who was overseeing operations, attempted to connect the parts, the sealer broke away and fell on Adam crushing his ribs. Site manager Martin Drinkwater told the hearing that he had produced a method statement directing the project. However managing director Raymond Dickinson said subsequent discussions with Frank Galbraith revealed that father and son had amended plans to ensure work proceeded. Specialist engineering inspector Dr David Swan said the bolts used were not strong enough for the lift.
Back to Table (2007) Trevor Steeples
Trevor was employed by UK Coal Ltd as a mine deputy at Daw Mill colliery. A spokesman for the company which runs the the deep mine at Furnace End said the Health and Safety Executive investigation was focusing on a build-up of methane gas. Trevor, a compound supervisor, was part of a small team preparing for the recovery of equipment when the incident occurred. He was stretchered out after collapsing underground and pronounced dead. The inquest is to be held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set. Trevor's death was to be the third fatality at Daw Mill Colliery, the biggest remaining pit in the UK, in a period of eight months (see deaths of Paul Hunt and Anthony Garrigan).
Back to Table (2007) Ronald Smith
Ronald Smith died after becoming trapped beneath an earth-moving machine. Ronald had been working at a site in St Michael's Way in Nuneaton. He was declared dead at the scene. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on on 3 December 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2007) Paul Hunt
Paul was killed at Daw Mill pit, near Arley. It is believed he was hit by a cart. The inquest is to be held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set. Paul's death was the third fatality at Daw Mill Colliery, the biggest remaining pit in the UK, in a period of eight months (see deaths of Trevor Steples and Anthony Garrigan).
Back to Table (2007) Anthony Garrigan
Anthony, known as Tony, was crushed when a section of the mineshaft wall in the underground roadway he was working on at Daw Mill Colliery, Warwickshire, collapsed. Ambulance crews were called to the colliery shortly after 11am. One crew went down the shaft to help Tony but he had suffered severe injuries and, despite resuscitation attempts, he was confirmed dead at the scene. Tony's Dad, Jim, said, 'Tony only went down there because he was a grafter. He'd been promised a job at Hatfield pit in the future but before that he couldn't get any work around here so he just took what was offered. He wanted to be a plumber, but he couldn't afford the £2,000 to go on the course to qualify. That's why he went away. He was just trying to look after the kids.' The inquest is to be held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set. Tony's death was the third fatality at Daw Mill Colliery, the biggest remaining pit in the UK, in a period of eight months (see deaths of Trevor Steples and Paul Hunt above).
Back to Table (2007) Kevin Chaplin
Kevin died after being trapped under a bus he was working on at a repair facility in Warwickshire. Kevin suffered head and arm injuries. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital. The incident happened at Man ERF in Harrington Way on the Bermuda Business Park, Nuneaton. The inquest was held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court, sitting in Nuneaton, on 13 September 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Table (2007) Deaths of four Warwickshire firefighters
A massive fire at a Warwickshire warehouse in November 2007 led to the greatest loss of life in a single fire among UK firefighters for 35 years. Four firefighters died following the fire at Wealmoor Atherstone's premises, a vegetable packing warehouse on an industrial estate in Atherstone on Stour. Police said Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service could be charged with corporate manslaughter over the deaths of the four firefighters. Asked at a news conference on 28 November 2007 whether the fire service would face charges, Det Supt Ken Lawrence said, 'It is possible. We are exploring every single possibility and ruling nothing out.' He added, 'I still don't know what started it. I am erring on the side of caution, treating it as if it was arson, but clearly I would add that I am open-minded about that.' Mr Lawrence said initial reports that migrant workers had been sleeping in the warehouse on the night of the blaze were untrue, although it might have happened on previous occasions. He added that the search of the site could take at least until the end of January (in fact ended in April 2008). Police officers interviewed warehouse workers and drew up a list of 400 people who were on the site in the days running up to the fire. Inadequate training in basic firefighting skills has resulted in a sharp increase in fatalities, the Fire Brigade Union claimed a few days after the fatalities. Although the cause of the Atherstone tragedy remained unknown, the union warned there had been a significant rise in deaths among firefighters over the past decade. In January 2008 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service with an improvement notice, following its investigation into the deaths. It found officers were not given enough information before attending the scene. Alan Craddock, head of operations for the HSE in the Midlands, said it had formed its opinion based on the evidence seen. He said, 'The current arrangements employed by the authority do not comply with the statutory duties to provide its firefighters with all the information they should have to assist them in making the appropriate decisions when attending a fire.' Mr Craddock said the fire service had four months to improve its arrangements for providing information on aspects such as locality of an incident, particular hazards of buildings involved and where a water supply can be found. He said, 'Our investigation is not just looking at the incident in Atherstone-on-Stour, it is looking at the wider arrangements. We are not happy with current wider arrangements on their provision of information given to crews attending fires at certain premises.. Mr Craddock said the service should make an action plan for the inspection of premises which gives priority to higher risk buildings. The inquest will be held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set.
Back to Table (2006) Peter Reynolds
Peter, who who had worked at the Cemex site for nearly eight years, fell to his death in an incident at Rugby Cement. Peter fell from a drop of about ten metres at the plant in Lawford Road, Rugby. His colleagues tried to save him but he died at the scene. The inquest is to be held at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set.
Back to Table (2007) Peter Clarke
Peter suffered serious head injuries in an incident at the Hanson Building Products concrete factory on the Hams Hall Distribution Park in Lea Marston. Peter was taken to hospital in Birmingham but died later.
Back to Table (2006) |
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