Company chiefs fined over recycling centre death
Two company bosses were today fined a total of €80,000 over the death of a Polish woman at a waste recycling depot in north Dublin.
Teresa Kwiatkowski died from massive internal injuries after she was struck by the mechanical arm of an excavator at a sorting centre in Sandy Hills, St Margaret’s on May 8, 2000.
The 44-year-old and her husband only began working at the disposal site as waste pickers three weeks before the fatal accident.
Two directors of companies at the recycling depot were fined today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for failing to meet adequate safety standards and inform them of risks.
Noel Murphy, director of Noel Murphy Waste Disposal Ltd, pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to inform employees of risk, failure to provide training and failure to bring safety terms to the attention of employees.
Seamus McCaul, co-director of McCaul-Murphy Waste Services Ltd, pleaded guilty to failing to prepare a safety statement.
Murphy was fined €60,000 while McCaul was hit with a €20,000 fine.
Ms Kwiatkowski was salvaging timber from a rubbish heap when she hit by the mechanical arm. She suffered multiple internal injuries and died later that day.
Mr Beegan, Health and Safety chief executive, said employers were duty-bound to ensure staff safety and migrant workers had to be given as much protection as possible.
“It is critical that employers show this duty of care to non-national workers and make sure that safety concerns are clearly and properly communicated to all staff,” Mr Beegan said.
“Companies need to ensure that they carry out an up-to-date risk assessment that clearly highlights all hazards associated with daily tasks,” he said.
“As we begin the New Year, I would encourage all employers to commit themselves to place health and safety as a top priority as it makes commercial and practical sense.”
The court heard on the day of the accident the mechanical shovel used to move waste up the yard was broken. At around 3.30pm an employee at the site used an excavator to free space in the yard for incoming waste.
Ms Kwiatkowski was bending down to pick up material from the rubbish heap when she was hit by the machine.
The driver of the excavator did not see the woman until he heard her husband screaming as he ran to pick her up. Although she had been wearing a high visibility vest the driver was unable to see her over three skip-loads of rubbish.
He told a Health and Safety inspector he had never been shown safety rules or been informed of risks.
Murphy has settled civil proceedings taken by the family of the deceased with a payment of €175,000 paid out of company funds.
