Courts / Dublin / Report
Family of 'meticulous, safety conscious' worker call for change in policy on workplace deaths
Summary
The family of Richard Gracey, a 64‑year‑old cargo loader who died after falling five metres from a plane at Dublin Airport on 24 November 2018, has asked that families receive more information about workplace deaths without waiting for a prosecution to finish. Gracey, who worked for Swissport Ireland since 2005, was unloading an Air France Boeing 777 when he fell headfirst onto the tarmac. The court heard that the main deck loader was 2.7 metres from the aircraft door, a gap that should have been no more than three inches, and that a yellow safety net was not attached correctly. Swissport admitted it had failed to provide adequate fall‑prevention measures and was fined €250,000. The judge noted that if the loader had been flush to the plane, the fatal accident would not have occurred, and the family's impact statement described profound grief and anger at the loss of a meticulous, safety‑conscious worker.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Family of 'meticulous, safety conscious' worker call for change in policy on workplace deaths. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- November 24, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 2005 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2023-03-09 Publication
Why: Richard Gracey's widow wrote that he often came home from work disheartened "because of difficulty with machinery" and described the situation at his workplace as "accidents waiting to happen". CNI source report
Places mentioned
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