Penalties Totalling €75,000 Handed Down for Fatal Workplace Accident
Wednesday 12th May
Health & Safety Authority Chief Executive Officer says case highlights dangers of working at height
Penalties totalling €75,000 were handed down to DAF Sales Ltd by Judge Martin Nolan in the Criminal Courts in Parkgate Street today (Wednesday 12th May) after a case involving the death of 24 year old man Mr. David Kwiatkowski, an employee of DAF Sales Ltd.
The case arose from an accident that occurred on 1st December 2006, Mr. Kwiatkowski was standing in a metal basket on the forks of a fork lift truck placing parts on a storage racking at a height of 4 to 5 meters. Mr. Kwiatkowski fell to the ground and the basket fell on top of him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard that the storage basket was not designed for attachment to the forks of a fork lift truck. The basket had no means of attachment to the forks and there was no means to control the fork lift truck from within the basket. A risk assessment had not been carried out for work at height in the Parts Storage Department of DAF Sales Ltd.
Speaking after the judgement Martin O’Halloran CEO of the Health & Safety Authority said,
“There can be a serious risk of injury or death when working at height if the risk is not appropriately controlled. Where work at height is necessary, the dangers can be minimised by carrying out a risk assessment and using the appropriate control measures and safety equipment. Clearly in this case that did not happen, with tragic results.”
