Memorial Ceremony To Remember Dead West Midlands' Workers
Death at work
28/04/2008
West Midlands' workers who have been killed or injured at work will be remembered at a wreath-laying ceremony at St Phillips Cathedral on Monday 28th April. The ceremony, which will take place at 12.30pm in St Philips churchyard, has been jointly organised by Birmingham Trades Council, in conjunction with West Midlands Hazards Trust as part of International Workers Memorial Day, when trade unions from all over the world will 'Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living.'
Amongst those taking part in the ceremony will be Helen Ball from Atherstone in Warwickshire, who will be laying a wreath in memory of her son, Sam, who died aged just 21, in a building site accident.
Sam had been working as a labourer when, on 16th January 2002, an eight tonne concrete block, which was being lifted by a crane, fell from a height of 12 feet, killing Sam instantly.
At the inquest it was revealed that a pin, that was used to attach the chain bearing the weight of the concrete block to the crane, had fractured six weeks earlier but the damage went undiscovered because the pin had not been inspected.
It was also revealed that the pin had been manufactured incorrectly leaving it too weak to bear the weight of the giant slab.
Inspectors found that on the day of the accident there were a total of 27 breaches of Health and Safety at the construction site but no action was brought because the breaches were not directly linked to Sam's death.
Six years on, Sam's mother, Helen Ball is still very angry that no-one has been held directly responsible for his death. She has campaigned for new regulations to force crane operators to check the pins - which would cost just £3 and a few minutes to replace - at least every 12 months. However British Standards have refused to recommend or enforce the additional measure because they claim such an accident could never happen again.
Mrs Ball said: "It's as though Sam's life never counted for anything. You look through accident records and his name doesn't get mentioned. It's as though he never existed."
According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, 33 West Midlands' workers died at work during 2006/07.
Poignantly, the wreath laying ceremony at St Phillips Churchyard will take place at a memorial to two workers who died during the construction of Birmingham Town Hall.
Across the world, two million people are killed by work every year. In the UK the official figure is 241 killed in work incidents but up to 12,000 killed by work, which includes members of the public killed in incidents and all those who died from an illness caused by work.
Philip Edwards, a Partner in the Workplace Injuries Department at the Birmingham office of Irwin Mitchell, said: "Workers Memorial Day is a time for reflection, to remember those workers who have been killed through trying simply to earn a living.
"It is also a time to highlight safety in a bid to prevent any further needless deaths through workplace accidents or illness. Most of these deaths could easily have been prevented – at least 70% according to the HSE – and employers need to be made more accountable for their failures."
Mr Edwards represented Helen Ball in her legal fight for compensation which was successfully settled out of court.
He added: "Like so many tragic accidents of this kind, this case was never about financial recompense as no amount of money could ever bring Sam back or relieve his family’s loss. Helen and her family continue to campaign for safety improvements to hopefully prevent this totally avoidable tragedy from happening again."