Company fined for accident that resulted in death of 3 year old child
12th October 2012
A fine of €25,000 was imposed on Patrick Monahan (Drogheda) Ltd today (Friday 12th October) by Judge Michael O’Shea in the Dundalk Circuit Court.
The Company, Patrick Monahan (Drogheda) Ltd, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 12 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act No 10 of 2005, as it relates to Section 77(9)(a).
The case arose as the result of an accident that caused the death of a 3 year old child, Desmond Dyas Junior, on Drogheda Town Quay.
Mr Desmond Dyas and his son Desmond junior were on the Drogheda town quay on the 10th November 2009, in an area of the port leased from the Drogheda Port Company to Patrick Monahan (Drogheda) Ltd. Around this time, a machine driver employed by Patrick Monahan (Drogheda) Ltd, commenced loading 22 metre long timber fir poles onto an articulated trailer by lifting them from a stack. This caused one of the poles, in an adjacent stack, to shift and roll forward from its storage location crushing Desmond Dyas Junior.
After sentencing, Martin O’Halloran, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority said, “This type of tragic accident can only be avoided if employers pay particular attention to the risk of members of the public interacting with the workplace. Where members of the public have access to a workplace, robust procedures should be in place to ensure that no work takes place until the people have moved clear and the hazard is removed.”
