The Ministry of Defence (“MoD”) has received a Crown Censure after a Royal Navy engineering technician was fatally crushed inside a lift shaft whilst carrying out maintenance work on board HMS Bulwark.

The incident occurred on 11 June 2014 while the ship was docked at Davenport naval base in Plymouth. Mr Edmonds had entered the lift shaft through a side panel to undertake repairs. He had been sent upwards in the lift from the control room by one of his colleagues, despite safety rules stating that the service lift was not to be used to carry staff.  Part of his body, which was extending from the confines of the lift, struck a switch arm that was attached to the inside of the lift shaft causing Mr Edmonds to sustain fatal crush injuries.

Mr Edmonds was not authorised to carry out the work. He was not supervised and there were no formal instructions to him to carry out the task. The Royal Navy has reviewed its safety arrangements since the incident and implemented new operating procedures.  

The MoD has, by accepting the Crown Censure, admitted breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (“Act”).  It will not receive a financial penalty.  The Crown Censure is the maximum sanction that a government body can receive.  It records that the MoD has breached its obligations under the Act.

If you or your company is the subject of an investigation following a workplace accident, you should seek legal advice from a specialist health and safety lawyer as a matter of urgency.  You should contact George Green’s Regulatory and Licensing Partner, James Lowe, on 07833 240400.