A nine year old boy was fatally injured during a swimming trip at a High School’s Sports Centre.
The tragedy occurred in the changing rooms as the young boy and his peer climbed a free standing locker unit whilst they were waiting for their lesson to begin. The locker unit which had doors missing was reportedly used by children as a climbing frame on many occasions.
The two children had climbed the unit, which began to topple over and whilst one of the children managed to jump free, tragically, the other boy was unable to and the 188kg locker fell on top of him.
Following an investigation, the HSE inspector managing the case, found that this could have been easily prevented. Devastatingly, the inspector stated that the unit was not secured to the wall despite being designed with fixing brackets to avoid such incidents. The Jury stated that the fatal incident weighed heavily upon the lack of sufficient assessment to clearly apparent risks, which ultimately led to the death of a young child.
The Chelmsford High School pleaded guilty to breach of the Safety at Work Act 1974 and was given a fine of £16,700 and ordered to pay costs of £12,000 by Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.
The HSE inspector urged all organisations to ensure all free-standing furniture is appropriately assessed to prevent what can quite easily be an avoidable incident.
Following this incident, with our deepest condolences for anyone affected, we would also like to urge organisations to take ownership in their role of ensuring the safety of anyone visiting their premises.
If you would like further advice or guidance on ensuring your organisation meets safety standards, please contact our office on 01924 827869 or use this HSE contact link .
