Work accident news -
17/07/2009

Coroner returns accidental death verdict on power station death

A coroner's verdict of accidental death has been returned regarding the death of a man in a work accident at a Cambridgeshire power station.

The 53-year-old died immediately when a bale of straw weighing half a tonne fell and landed on him during an unloading procedure in September last year. The cause of death was given as mechanical asphyxia, or the inability to breathe as a result of the weight of the bale on the man's chest.

A colleague drove a forklift to the accident scene to try to lift the bale off the man, but to no avail.

Although the inquest found no evidence of the work injury being the result of negligence, the HSE continues to investigate the work accident scene. No statement has been made regarding the intent of the man's wife and three children to make a no win, no fee compensation claim.