When there has never been an accident until now, but if there is a safer way…
What happened?
A swimming pool attendant was tidying away a wet inflatable slide, a task that had been carried out without incident for many years. On this occasion, while the employee was standing on the wet slide to untie the ropes underneath it, he fell, suffering a serious injury.
The employer, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, argued that since there had been no previous incidents, they could rely on the employees to take the appropriate precautions.
There was, however, a safer way to do the task – carrying out the steps in a different order, so that the hose was put away before the slide.
Legal Outcome
The court concluded that regardless of the absence of previous accidents, if there was a significant risk (and walking on wet plastic is surely a risk), employers must point out hazards to employees, and lay out a safe method to prevent harm occurring. Had the employer documented and trained staff in this method, it was unlikely the employee would have fallen.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council was held responsible (on appeal), but the pool attendant was 50% contributory negligent, in 1997. It is not known what damages were awarded.
What can we learn from what happened?
It is stated that the task of tidying away a wet inflatable slide had been carried out without incident for many years. How reliable is this piece of information? It may well be true, but what may also be the case is that there had been the occasional minor accident that was never reported, and more likely there had been many near misses when a member of staff fell but was not hurt.
If this was the case, and it is an if, then a positive culture of reporting minor accidents and near misses just may have prevented the serious accident that did occur.
Either way, the task should have been assessed, and the risk managed.
Source of Information
Bridget Leathley – from her ‘The Safer Choice’ website