For those who have heard this story in the press recently, you will agree that it is such a tragedy. According to reports from the Mirror (source), police investigating the death of a six year old girl who was crushed by an electric gate have arrested two men on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence.
According to the report, the two men in question, both aged 38, had been sub-contracted to work on the 750kg gate in Moss Side, Manchester. The death of the young girl comes just days before an automatic gate in South Wales killed a five year old child; another story you may be aware of in recent news.
Enquiries in to the incident are ongoing, however the report also mentions that the developer of Faulkner Gates Ltd was fined £80,000, and ordered to pay £40,000 in costs, after a nine year old boy was crushed to death by an electric gate in Dorset.
Manufactures of equipment and building / land owners all have clear duties of care to ensure that they do not cause any person to come to harm. Manufacturers of course have the duty to ensure that their product does not cause harm or suffering to an individual, and of course land owners must ensure that nothing can cause harm to anyone on their land, or in their building. It appears that the workmen above had a duty to ensure the gate they were working on would not cause any person to come to harm; something which they appear to have failed to comply with in the gravest of ways…
These stories are all tragedies, and it’s a shame to hear of any person losing their life due to the negligence of others; particularly when the victims are children. Let’s hope improvements are made for the future; repeats of such incidents simply cannot happen.
