Kildare wife of man killed in workplace accident criticises negligence

THE heartbroken widow of a young dad who was killed in a workplace accident has said that he “was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives”.

Alan Mulhall (34) was fatally injured when a low-voltage switchgear weighing 760kg fell and struck his head while working at St Patrick's Hospital on 23 November 2017.

A native of Emo, he lived on the Stradbally Road in Portlaoise with his wife Vikki (née Doogue) and their two sets of twins – three boys and a girl. Vikki is originally from Castlemitchell, Athy.

An electrical engineering company was fined €400,000 at the Central Criminal Court last week over Alan’s horrific death.

John Fletcher Ltd, with offices in Portarlington, Co Laois entered guilty pleas to failing to discharge the duties of an employer as required by the ***Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005***, which resulted in the death.

The company also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer and one count of failing to take appropriate organisational measures to avoid the need for manual handling by its employees.

David Fletcher (36), a director of the company, entered the guilty pleas on its behalf. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer.

In her victim impact statement, Alan’s widow told the court that everything her late husband did was for their family.

Mrs Mulhall said he kissed her on the cheek that morning like he did every day on his way to work.

She said: “He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives.” 

Mrs Mulhall spoke of the pain and grief of their loss and its impact on her and their four young children. She said what happened could and should have been avoided.

“Mistakes cost me my husband and my children’s father,” she said, later telling the court their lives had been “shattered” and would “never be the same again”.

She said: “After seven long years of dragging us through courts, all we can hope for today is justice for this devastating and negligent crime”.

A victim impact statement was read out in court on behalf of Mr Mulhall's parents Frank and Patricia, siblings and sister-in-law. They said their lives were “changed forever” when they were told their “beloved son” had been killed.

They said Mr Mulhall is greatly missed and is always in their minds and hearts.

Health and Safety Authority (HSA) inspector Kay Baxter told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that John Fletcher Ltd were contracted to carry out works at the hospital as part of a project to update a generator.

David Fletcher of Main Street, Portarlington, Co Laois was the company director with responsibility for this project, including health and safety, the court heard. Neither Mr Fletcher nor the company have previous convictions.

Mr Mulhall was an employee of John Fletcher Ltd, having started work as an apprentice electrician in 2001. He was a qualified electrician and had been promoted internally to a site supervisor role.

The court heard that the accident occurred in a hospital plant room, during the movement of three low-voltage switchgears, which were to be installed as part of the project to upgrade the generator.

The HSA was critical of the risk involved in manually moving the switchgear to the plant room, but acknowledge it would not have been possible to use mechanical equipment in the room. Double doors, which could also have been used to access the room, were obstructed by a temporary generator at the time.

These were later upgraded to allow for the equipment to be removed.

Mr Cole told Judge Nolan that the state's position is that this work was carried out using an “ill-conceived plan”. The prosecution also does not accept that Mr Mulhall had the authority on the day to stop the work.

The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd engaged with the HSA investigation, but initially denied any wrongdoing or responsibility.

During the investigation, David Fletcher and John Fletcher suggested it was relevant that Mr Mulhall was not wearing a construction safety helmet at the time of the incident. However, the engineer's report concluded that this type of hat would have offered no protection from the injuries sustained by the victim.

Michael Delaney SC, defending, said he is instructed to apologise for the breach of duty as an employer, which led to Mr Mulhall's death.

Counsel said it is now clear that the contract should have been redone and changes made to the plant room to allow the task to be completed safely. He said the company's “fault” was that it didn't seek to have these issues addressed “before exposing its employees to risk”.

An accountant's report on the company's financial position was submitted to the court. Mr Delaney said the company is profitable and has cash reserves, which are essential to secure large-scale projects. He said company directors take “modest” salaries, with David Fletcher's salary being around €60,000.

Counsel said David Fletcher is married and has three children. He is an engineer and a grandson of John Fletcher – the company's founder. He had been a director since late 2016 and was relatively junior at the time.

Judge Martin Nolan noted the “devastating” impact of Mr Mulhall's death on his family and described their victim impact statements as “heartbreaking”.

“This family will have to continue without the help and guidance of a very good man”, said the judge, expressing the court's sympathies to the Mulhall family.

He said his function was “to do justice to John Fletcher Ltd and David Fletcher” and said the evidence showed the plan to transport and unload this equipment was a “totally misconceived idea”.

“Anybody looking at it would say this was a very potentially dangerous exercise” which was “fraught with danger”.

He said the court was aware that the company was operating within a plan, but that the equipment should have been moved by mechanical means instead of manually.

The judge said he had taken into account the seriousness of the offence, the guilty pleas and the previous good record when constructing the penalty.

He noted that David Fletcher was the responsible director, but the court considered the company had the primary responsibility as “the scheme for unloading these devices was particularly ill-conceived”.

He imposed a fine of €400,000 on John Fletcher Ltd and fine of €5,000 on David Fletcher, both to be paid within six months.

As sentence was finalised, voices shouted from the body of the court “f**king joke”, and “do you not realise a man's life is gone”.

In a statement after the court hearing, Mark Cullen, assistant chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, said: “It is vital for employers to ensure that all works being undertaken by their employees are planned, organised, managed and conducted in a safe manner. Where there is a risk of serious injury, employers must take appropriate measures to avoid the need for manual handling of heavy loads. As can be seen from this case, failure to do so can lead to tragic outcomes.”