Health and safety in the workplace is so, so important. Getting it right and wrong can literally be the difference between life and death…
In this employer’s negligence case, an employee of Cornish Construction Company, Roger Daw, tragically had both his legs amputated after he was crushed by a dumper truck during the course of his employment.
A truly horrifying incident.
Facts and losses
On the day in question, the employee was operating a fully-loaded tipping dumper that became imbalanced and overturned, which consequently led him to be thrown from the vehicle, and being crushed as a result. This led him to have a double amputation around the knee area due to significant injuries sustained.
Truro Crown Court ordered £200,000.00 in fines and £12,000.00 in costs for all legal proceedings brought as a result of the incident. Mr Daw’s ability to work – particularly in the construction industry – has been all but taken away from him. His employer’s negligence has changed his life forever: not only from the horrifying ordeal he has had to go through, but also financially and how he will continue to be affected in the future.
When a workplace incident is avoidable, heavy fines can be levied on offending companies, and injured employees can deservedly claim compensation for what’s happened.
The duty of care
As his employer, Cornish Construction Company owed him a duty of care for his wellbeing and safety. This means that they should have taken all reasonable steps to prevent an accident and an injury.
It seems clear in this particular case that the employer negligently failed to provide their employee the standard of care required. The Health & Safety Executive – the independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness – investigated and found that the company had failed to carry out a sufficient risk-assessment in terms of competence of their drivers using the equipment involved in the incident.
It was also found that the type of truck Mr Daw was using was not appropriate for the tasks he was doing anyway, and that the equipment had not been adequately assessed by anyone on the construction site. Mr Daw’s accident may have been prevented if the company had completed proper risk assessments of the equipment.
Cornish Construction Company had a duty of care to prevent such incidents by making routine assessments of their employees and their competency in using the equipment; but this was unfortunately not satisfied. Having a concern for the physical and mental wellbeing of your employees should not be just a legal obligation, but a moral obligation too.
What a duty of care includes?
An employer’s duty of care is fairly broad. In relation to personal injury, their duty of care can include: undertaking risk assessments; providing a safe work environment; providing adequate training where necessary (for example if you have not used a particular equipment before, you would expect to be trained prior to using it); etc.
When does an employer breach a duty of care?
Employer’s breach of duty of care can occur when they fail to do something that is seen as reasonable in the circumstances. In this case, Cornish Construction Company failed to make a risk assessment of the equipment and the competency of their employees using the equipment. It’s a reasonable assumption that the Construction Company should have made these assessments, as the potential injuries from using the equipment – as proven in this case – can be absolutely devastating.
