The family of a man, who was tragically crushed to death between two diggers in a workplace accident, is to receive £454,000 compensation from the man´s former employers following a death at work claim.
Ronan Conway (27) passed away after getting out of the cab of his vehicle to look at something in the ground in front of where he was working. Tragically he had failed to put in place the safety lever on the digger before leaving the vehicle and was crushed between his digger and another working on the site.
Once an investigation of the fatal accident of November 2008 was completed, Ronan’s fiancée of eight years Anne Marie Morgan (30), claimed wrongful death at work compensation from Ronan’s former employers – OB Hire and Sales Limited – alleging that they were responsible for Ronan’s fatal accident due to permitting him to work in a yard which had “little or no lighting”.
OB Hire and Sales Limited refuted the allegations and claimed that Ronan had not followed the training he had been given in the operation of the digger and that it was his own negligence which led to his fatal accident.
However, at High Court, the judge was advised that the company had made an offer to settle the work death claim which the family were willing to accept. The final amount of compensation award had been decreased to account for Ronan’s contributory negligence and was to be divided between the claimant, Ronan’s parents and siblings, and the children both Ronan and Ms Morgan had from their previous relationships.