'Defects in work system contributed to fatality'

A CONSTRUCTION worker who drowned after falling into an underground water tank had been working on his own at a task which should have been carried out by three employees, an inquest jury ruled yesterday.

While the jury said the cause of the accident in which 47-year-old Sean Patrick Johnston died was not known, they ruled there were "defects in the system of working which contributed to the accident".

The jury ruled Mr Johnston, of Toberdoney Road in Dervock, near Ballymoney, was "one man doing a three-man job" and said there were "unclear instructions" regarding the work he was involved in.

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The jury further ruled there was "inadequate supervision" on the site of a pumping station at West Bay, Portrush, on the day Mr Johnston died on October 6, 2006.

The nine-woman jury also ruled that Mr Johnston being a non-swimmer was relevant to the circumstances of his death.

Senior Coroner John Leckey, sitting at Coleraine Courthouse, passed on his sympathy to the family of Mr Johnston.

He said the jury was selected because Mr Johnston had died during an accident at work.

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Mr Johnston had only started working as a driver of a telescopic handler on the construction site in Portrush on the week of his death.

He was employed by John Graham Ltd to build a waste treatment plant for the Water Service to help improve the water quality at bathing beaches.

Mr Leckey said it was already established by a pathologist that Mr Johnston died as a result of drowning and he said the jury had to conclude whether or not there were any defects in the system of working which contributed to the accident.

Mr Leckey said Mr Johnston could not swim and that may also have been a factor why he could not save himself when he fell into the water tank.

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The inquest heard no-one witnessed Mr Johnston fall into the well as he was working alone, moving steel mesh which formed a temporary covering on top of the six-metre well, which was around half full with water.

The inquest was told it was a job which should have been carried out by three people – one driving a telescopic handler and two others to guide the mesh.

Nancy Henry, from the Health & Safety Executive, said someone falling into the water in the tank may have had a chance of surviving if they had been able to swim as there was a ladder in the tank.

A lawyer representing John Graham Ltd expressed his sympathy to Mr Johnston's family.

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