Latest:
HSE stalls over justice fight
00:00 21 Aug 2001
|
Sir,
I write in reference to Tim Wood's article '114 deaths brings calls for tougher killing laws' (CJ 1 August). I could not agree more with the sentiment of the article.
On 24 August 1998 my husband sustained serious head injuries in an accident at work on a construction site and he died three days later. It has taken me until July of this year to come to any sort of conclusion with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
I have had to hound the HSE into prosecuting the company, let alone the individual director who had nominated himself as the site safety director. I have seen the evidence gathered by the HSE and the police - evidence that fulfiled the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covering the offence of neglect - and still the HSE failed to use its powers.
All of this has culminated in my taking my concerns to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. After an investigation that took 12 months, the Ombudsman has upheld my complaint.
The complacency has been frightening. In the summary of the report one of the conclusions is that, "the extent to which they initially pursued the question of neglect on the part of the company directors was less than ideal".
I gather that this has been one of the few occasions when a member of the public has not accepted at face value what the HSE has been saying and has pursued the matter as far as possible.
Whether ultimately any of this makes any difference to an organisation that has not been held accountable for its actions for so long remains to be seen. I have been assured that "lessons have been learned", but that is of little comfort to me.
My husband was 30 when he was killed and not only did the company he was working for let him down, but so did the very organisation whose remit it is to deal with health and safety in the workplace.
The HSE does not need any more laws, it needs to implement effectively the ones it already has. How many more company directors have to be let off the hook before the HSE is shaken out of its belief that it is untouchable?
Fiona Grafton-Smith
Chaddlewood
Plympton
I write in reference to Tim Wood's article '114 deaths brings calls for tougher killing laws' (CJ 1 August). I could not agree more with the sentiment of the article.
On 24 August 1998 my husband sustained serious head injuries in an accident at work on a construction site and he died three days later. It has taken me until July of this year to come to any sort of conclusion with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
I have had to hound the HSE into prosecuting the company, let alone the individual director who had nominated himself as the site safety director. I have seen the evidence gathered by the HSE and the police - evidence that fulfiled the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covering the offence of neglect - and still the HSE failed to use its powers.
ADVERTISEMENT
All of this has culminated in my taking my concerns to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. After an investigation that took 12 months, the Ombudsman has upheld my complaint.
The complacency has been frightening. In the summary of the report one of the conclusions is that, "the extent to which they initially pursued the question of neglect on the part of the company directors was less than ideal".
I gather that this has been one of the few occasions when a member of the public has not accepted at face value what the HSE has been saying and has pursued the matter as far as possible.
Whether ultimately any of this makes any difference to an organisation that has not been held accountable for its actions for so long remains to be seen. I have been assured that "lessons have been learned", but that is of little comfort to me.
My husband was 30 when he was killed and not only did the company he was working for let him down, but so did the very organisation whose remit it is to deal with health and safety in the workplace.
The HSE does not need any more laws, it needs to implement effectively the ones it already has. How many more company directors have to be let off the hook before the HSE is shaken out of its belief that it is untouchable?
Fiona Grafton-Smith
Chaddlewood
Plympton
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Viewed Articles
ADVERTISEMENT