Home > Publications > Selected cases— Parliamentary > Selected Cases and Summaries of Completed Investigations: April 2001 to September 2001 > Case No. C.752/01
Selected Cases and Summaries of Completed Investigations
PCA 6th Report – Session 2001-2002
Chapter 2
HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE
Conduct of an investigation into an industrial accident
Mrs E complained about the conduct by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of an investigation into the industrial accident that had caused her husband’s death. She alleged that there had been unreasonable delays during the course of the investigation, that HSE had failed to keep her informed of progress, that they had not given proper consideration to the possibility of culpability on the part of the directors of the company that employed her husband, and in that respect had not attempted to interview the relevant company personnel at the appropriate time. The Ombudsman found that there had been delays, only in part justifiable, in HSE’s investigation into the accident. Those had been exacerbated by poor communication by HSE with Mrs E about progress. The decisions taken by HSE as to the handling of the investigation, in particular as regards enquiries aimed at distinguishing the culpability of individuals, had for the most part been adequately grounded in an understanding of the relevant circumstances, although the extent to which they had initially pursued the question of possible neglect on the part of company directors had been less than ideal. HSE apologised to Mrs E for their shortcomings; agreed to reimburse consequent expenses; and agreed to offer an additional payment of £300 in recognition of the distress caused. They gave assurances that lessons had been learned from the case about liaison with the victims of accidents and their relatives, and that other lessons, relating to the issue of the personal responsibility of company directors for health and safety matters, would contribute to a strategic review.
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