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McDonald’s
isn’t "lovin’ it" after £35,000
fine McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd and co-defendant Jones
Lang LaSalle Ltd were fined a combined total of £75,000
at Birmingham Crown Court on 26 November after pleading guilty
at an earlier magistrates’ hearing to charges under sections
2(1) and 3(1) of the HSWA 1974, respectively.
The
prosecution was launched by Birmingham City Council after
an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the serious
spinal injuries suffered by an employee of the well-known
fast-food firm, who fell from a roof area at Birmingham’s
Paradise Forum shopping centre. The injuries sustained by
Isobel Cartwright were so serious that her lower rib had to
be removed and grafted on to her spine, while part of her
spine was put into a titanium cage held together by metal
pins.
McDonald’s
admitted that, on 1 July 2002, it had allowed Mrs Cartwright
to access a roof area, which housed ventilation equipment
serving its premises in Paradise Forum. This area had no protection
to prevent falls off the edge of the roof. While conducting
a survey of the ventilation system and roof area, she had
stepped on to an adjacent suspended false ceiling, thinking
it was a load-bearing part of the roof. There were no signs
identifying the fragile nature of this ceiling and she fell
more than 11 feet through the ceiling to the ground below.
McDonald’s
had conducted a health and safety audit of this premises five
times between November 2001 and June 2002 and only the final
audit in June 2002 highlighted the lack of edge protection.
However, the company continued to allow employees to access
the roof area.
The court heard that McDonald’s relied on its generic
risk assessment procedures to help identify hazards at this
premises.
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However, the generic assessments mainly applied to modular
or ‘generic’ premises where the edge protection
is designed into the roof structure.
Paradise Forum was a shopping centre premises that was not
designed or built by McDonald’s, so it did not fit into
the generic profile. It should, therefore, have been subject
to a site-specific risk assessment, which should have identified
the lack of edge protection and prompted McDonald’s to
act.
Jones
Lang LaSalle Ltd, who managed Paradise Forum, admitted it
had known about the lack of edge protection since 1999 but
had taken no steps to make the roof area safe. Investigating
environmental health officer Mohammed Basharat also discovered
that a similar accident had occurred in January 2001, when
a security officer working on behalf of Jones Lang LaSalle
Ltd had fallen through the same false ceiling.
"Throughout
the period of the investigation both defendants felt the other
had been responsible for the failings," said Basharat.
"Both defendants failed to comply with their statutory
duties, resulting in Mrs Cartwright suffering the consequences
of their inaction. This investigation has highlighted that,
although generic risk assessments are a valid means of identifying
and controlling hazards, they are not suitable in all circumstances
and are more effective for those premises that fit a generic
profile."
Summing
up, the judge accepted that both defendants were "respected
and reputable companies" and that the incident had not
occurred from putting profit above safety. McDonald’s
also cited its previous good safety record. However, the judge
remarked that the incident was entirely avoidable, as there
were warnings well in advance.
McDonald’s
was fined £35,000 plus costs of £7532, while Jones
Lang LaSalle was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £7660
costs.
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