Asda admits barrier death charges

[Nibb]

Asda admits barrier death charges

Supermarket giant Asda has admitted health and safety breaches over the death a man who was killed when a car park barrier swung into his vehicle.
Kenneth Farr, 37, of Penarth, died in May 2002, after the unsecured barrier smashed through his car windscreen at the Asda store in Cardiff Bay.

The firm admitted two health and safety at work charges brought by Cardiff Council at Newport Crown Court.

Asda has not yet been sentenced for the offences.


Asda admitted two safety charge breaches over Kenneth Farr's death

In 2006, a jury at an inquest into his death returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Mr Farr, an electronics engineer, had gone to the store to buy a garden shed when he was hit on the head when a steel swing barrier was blown into the path of his car by a gust of wind as he drove into the car park.

One of his daughter's who was three at the time was on the back seat of his car at the time of the incident but escaped unharmed.

His wife Helen was in court with her family for the hearing on Monday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7200678.stm

[Karoline]

OMG, thats sounds terrifying. Feel sorry for the guy who got killed.

[BertRoot]

Lets hope the family get a decent bung for compensation. Poor bastard was younger than me as well. Sad news.

[4me2]

Why do these things always take bloody years to resolve ?

[Over Carl]

Solictors have to make their money somehow

[Cenus_]

Tragic, and with his nipper witnessing the whole thing.

[Mobileman]

I can remember this when it happened just a shame that some sort of justice has taken this long.

[prezzy]

I remember reading about this at the time, can't believe it has taken this long for them to sort this out.

[Nibb]

Asda fined over car barrier death

Supermarket giant Asda is ordered to pay £267,000 after admitting health and safety breaches over the death a man who was killed by a car park barrier.


The youngest of Kenneth Farr's three daughters was in the car

Kenneth Farr, 37, of Penarth, died in May 2002, after the unsecured barrier smashed through his car windscreen at the Asda store in Cardiff Bay.

The firm admitted two health and safety at work charges brought by Cardiff Council at Newport Crown Court.

Asda was fined £225,000 and ordered to pay £42,000 in costs.

The company also apologised unreservedly to the Farr family.

After the hearing, Mr Farr's widow Helen said: "It was a mistake that should never had occurred."

Cardiff Council said the tragedy was "an accident waiting to happen".

In 2006, a jury at an inquest into Mr Farr's death returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

The two-week inquest into his death was told that the barrier, which was difficult to close, should have been locked in place with a padlock, but was not secured on the day Mr Farr died.


It was a simple thing of locking a padlock, something which takes a matter of seconds. Because that wasn't done, this is why I am now widowed
Helen Farr

One Asda employee told the inquest she had problems opening and closing the heavy barrier, and that the day before the accident it had got stuck a short distance from its securing post.

Following the inquest, Cardiff Council brought a prosecution against Asda for breaching health and safety rules.

On Monday, the firm admitted the offences and apologised for Mr Farr's death.

Mr Farr, an electronics engineer, had gone to the store to buy a garden shed when he was hit on the head after a steel swing barrier was blown into the path of his car by a gust of wind as he drove into the car park.

One of his daughters, who was three at the time, was on the back seat of his car at the time of the incident but escaped unharmed.

Asda told the court that as a result of Mr Farr's death, all swing barriers had been removed from its stores.

Car at scene of barrier coming down at Asda supermarket, Cardiff Bay, 2002.
Asda admitted two safety charge breaches over Kenneth Farr's death

The court head that there had been two previous accidents before Mr Farr's death in which a swing barrier and another similar barrier had crashed in to vehicles as they had gone into to car parks.

The hearing was told that while Asda had known about it, and had put in place safety regulations, the staff on the ground had not made sure these barriers were secured properly.

Speaking after the hearing, Asda's corporate affairs director, Paul Kelly, said "human error" had been to blame for the accident.

"The risk assessments were in place, the issues had been identified and sadly this was a failure of human error at the local level," he said.

His widow was in court with her family for the hearing on Monday.

Speaking on the steps of the court after the case, Mrs Farr said: "It was a simple thing of locking a padlock, something which takes a matter of seconds. Because that wasn't done, this is why I am now widowed."


Cardiff Council said Mr Farr's death was 'an accident waiting to happen'

She also criticised the size of the fine.

"To a company the size of Asda a fine of £250,000 is nothing really, is it?" she said.

In a statement, Cardiff Council, said a review of the case by the Crown Prosecution after the coroner's verdict had concluded there was "insufficient evidence to justify a charge of manslaughter".

The council said after this decision by the CPS it was in a position to bring the prosecution under health and safety laws.

Senior environmental health officer Keith James said: "This was an accident waiting to happen and unfortunately for the Farr family it was Kenneth who was driving into the Cardiff Bay store at that particular time.

"It could have been any one of us or a member of our family."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7200678.stm

[prezzy]

Hmm £250,000 fine for taking the life of a father of 3 young kids - not right that.

[marcode]

what are the odds of driving in at the windiest time of the day and it actually hitting you.

poor bloke

[B B Leo]

it happened in 2002 and only doing the pay out now
bloody hell as if the family where not through enought

[Waka]

That damages award is a total piss-take.

Being very mercenary - if he earned average wages (£20,000 to make my maths easier) for the next 25 years....then his family should get £500,000...MINIMUM.

How the fuck do they get such low numbers for a culpable loss of life?!

W.