We often hear of companies who have been taken to court over health and safety violations. Some organisations have been fined thousands of pounds because they didn't use the proper safety signs, or because a certain piece of equipment wasn't being used properly.
Sadly, though, accidents can't always be prevented, and the unthinkable does sometimes happen even in safety-compliant workplaces. Take, for example, the sad story of Nigel Chester: the 46-year-old safety inspector was visiting a Premier Foods factory in Nottinghamshire when he stepped through a 'door to nowhere' and suffered a 13ft fall, resulting in severe head injuries that eventually proved fatal.
Unusually for this type of case, though, the company was eventually judged to be free from blame, and Chester's tragic death ruled an accident. Why? Because the door (installed a decade ago during the construction of a gantry that was eventually deemed unnecessary) was locked and marked with an appropriate warning sign. Nigel Chester had unlocked the door using a master key, and he presumably didn't notice the sign, which read "Danger. Keep this door locked. Four metre fall to the floor if opened."
While this sign was sadly not enough to save the life of Mr Chester, it was enough to convince a jury that his death had been an accident, and it seems that the company will not be penalised. We are not suggesting that this should be any consolation to Mr Chester's family, nor indeed to the factory workers who witnessed the incident, but one must wonder how much sooner an accident like this would have occurred had the sign not been in place.
If there are any unmarked hazards in your workplace, be sure to label them with the correct safety signs as a matter of urgency. It's the law, and it could well save lives.
Source: Daily Mail
