Morrisons supermarket has been found guilty of health and safety breaches and has been fined £3.5m. A man who had suffered from epilepsy since he was a child had worked for the store for ten years. He was moved from working in the canteen to the grocery store after a seizure and it is reported that some adjustments had been made to try to ensure that he had a safe working environment.
Sadly, however, the man fell down the stairs and sustained a head injury; he died 12 days later. The inquest could not conclusively say that the fall had been caused by a seizure but the inquest jury did note:
'An absence of a structured process and ownership in relationship to managing a person with epilepsy, a lack of communication, no personal risk assessment or the monitoring thereof, and insufficient reporting all led to missed opportunities that may have contributed to Matt's death.'
This is a tragic case for the man's family but is also one that all employers can learn from, including the need to take steps such as:
Reviewing employee records - the fact that the man suffered epilepsy was known to Morrisons - they could have considered whether all reasonable steps had been taken after the seizure which caused him to be moved from one department to another.
Considering logistical issues - the man's locker was on the first floor - it could have been placed on the ground floor to avoid the need for him to use the stairs.
Reviewing health and safety assessments - ensuring that these are up to date for all employees and, crucially, ensuring that they are reviewed when a situation occurs which might render an assessment out of date.
Reviewing processes - employers should ensure that all processes, responsibilities and lines of communication are regularly reviewed and updated.
Any one of these might have saved a life in this case.
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