Rail firm to face trial over accident death (From Chelmsford Weekly News)

Rail firm to face trial over accident death

7:00am Saturday 16th February 2013 in News

NETWORK Rail is facing a trial later this year over an accident that left one man dead and two others seriously injured.

Malcolm Slater, 64, died when he and two workmates fell 15ft on to the main line from Liverpool Street at Margaretting.

They were working on the overhead lines after a train brought the power cables down on June 10, 2008.

The accident took place when a metal basket they were in broke away from a hydraulic arm of a vehicle holding it up.

Network Rail denied three charges brought by the Office of Rail Regulation during a brief hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

The rail firm is accused of failing to ensure the equipment used to lift the employees was suitable or could support their weight and the weight of their equipment and tools.

It is also alleged to have failed to ensure the men and their supervisors had written instructions on how to use work equipment.

The third charge alleges it failed to guarantee that all persons who used or supervised the use of equipment had received adequate health and safety training.

Mr Slater, from Harold Hill, was taken to Queen’s Hospital in Romford with spinal injuries but died 20 days after the accident. His two colleagues – Phil Miles and Daniel Wild – were later said to be office-bound as a result of their injuries.

An inquest into Mr Slater’s death in October 2010 returned a verdict of accidental death. The trial will take place in June and is expected to last up to three weeks.