Family of crushing victim speak out on verdict

10:01am Friday 10th November 2006

THE FAMILY of a man crushed to death in a freak lorry accident are considering legal action against his employers.

Bernadette Howell, mother of Paul Howell, said a civil case was a possibility and that a decision would be made over the next few weeks.

She spoke out at the end of a three-day inquest yesterday, in which coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded a verdict of accidental death after Mr Howell, aged 38, of Upland Drive, Little Hulton, died from multiple injuries on April 15, 2005.

A jury at Bolton Coroner's Court heard how he was crushed between two lorries while working as a dispatcher at Avis Steel Services, Highfield Road, Little Hulton.

Mr Howell, had been leaning into a lorry to switch on the engine to warm it up.

When he stepped down the lorry began to roll forward.

As he stood on the step of the lorry trying to stop the vehicle, it hit a parked lorry and he was crushed by the door.

The inquest had been told earlier in the week that there had been no formal measures in place which outlined how dispatchers should move vehicles around the yard.

David Bowers, the health and safety manager of Avis, told the inquest that the company had made improvements since Mr Howell's death.

He said: "We have made a full assessment of the risks present and we have made the relevant improvements. A system of safe working procedures has been written up and all the dispatchers have received training."

But speaking after the inquest Mrs Howell said: "What happened to Paul was a terrible tragedy which we are still coming to terms with. We are glad that new health and safety regulations have been put in place to stop something like this ever happening again.

"We are still considering whether or not to take legal action and pursue a civil case and that is something that we will decide on in the next couple of weeks."

Coroner Leeming said: "I have no recommendations to make in this case as the Health and Safety Executive are now satisfied that the matters which they would have wanted addressed have been."