Aer Lingus fined €250,000 over health and safety breach

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Aer Lingus was fined €250,000 by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a health and safety breach connected with the death of cargo driver John Murray. The proceedings were reported on 20 March 2017.

The company pleaded guilty through a representative to failing to manage its undertaking so that non-employees were not exposed to risks to their safety, health or welfare. The charge concerned conduct at or near Gate 7 at Aer Lingus Cargo Warehouse on 5 November 2014, including failures to protect against falls from height and implement written procedures for driver access to loading bays.

Drivers habitually climbed onto and off a three-foot-high loading dock. John Murray, 55, from Skerries, Co Dublin, fell while climbing down with light parcels at night. He was found unconscious approximately 25 minutes later and died several days later despite surgery to relieve brain swelling. Victim impact statements from his wife and their two children were submitted.

Inspector Martin Convey told Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that the company had identified the practice as a risk in 2007 and written procedures had been prepared. Shane Murphy SC, defending, said a lack of supervision at night had allowed bad practice to develop.

Inspector Martin Convey agreed with Shane Murphy SC that access was now strictly supervised, with fencing, signs and spot checks, and that the activity had not recurred. Shane Murphy SC said the company deeply regretted what happened, had cooperated fully with the investigation and now met best practice.

Judge Martin Nolan noted the early guilty plea, apology, generally good record and remedial steps. He described an inherent danger but said no one could have envisaged a death. He said this was not an extreme case and imposed the fine against a maximum of €3 million.

Following the ruling, John Murray’s family said through solicitor Dermot McNamara that a damages claim had been lodged in the High Court.