![]() It was fined £533,000 and ordered to pay costs of £40,000. Orona pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The charge against Aster Property was ordered to be left to lie on the court file and was not separately sentenced. The company accepted that its duties were not to be delegated and that the failings of Aster Property were part of its breach. ![]() In addition to the £1m fine, it was ordered to pay costs of £40,000. Synergy Housing pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. According to HSE guidance, lifts carrying people should be inspected every six months but, in this case, the lift was serviced only four times between 20 and was not thoroughly examined since 2012. ![]() Concerns raised by Alexys’ brother’s health workers were not taken seriously enough.Because the switch was in the “on” position with the key removed, it could be operated by anyone at any time. The key switch used to control operation of the lift had been modified from factory installation to allow removal of the key in any position. Problems with the emergency lowering and lack of emergency hand winding wheel during the whole of the Brown family’s tenancy, and which was shown in the documentation from at least January 2011 On, an Orona engineer completed a service inspection and, in his report, wrote “Routine service visit - Glass in door smashed!” but this was not fixed or replaced The Perspex vision panel had been damaged for up to 18 months prior to the incident. Concerns raised during service inspections were not addressed including:.No risk assessment was carried out following the change of lift user when the Brown family moved in.Tenants were not provided with safety critical information concerning the operation of the lift.In May 2015 an Orona engineer visited the property to inspect the lift and noted the vision panel was damaged.Īn investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found a catalogue of failures by the three companies Synergy Housing as the Brown family’s landlord which had primary responsibility for the safety of the lift at the property Aster Property as the company to which responsibility for arranging lift maintenance issues fell and Orona who were responsible for the relevant lift maintenance and repair work.įindings by HSE during the investigation included: The court heard that when one of the Perspex vision panels in the lift became damaged in early 2013, this was not fixed or replaced. Synergy Housing also had an agreement from June 2013 with Aster Property Limited, another company from the Aster Group, to arrange the maintenance and repair of lifts and to control the work. ![]() The contractual relationship was that Synergy Housing had an agreement with Orona for the maintenance and repair of lifts, including the lift at the property in which the Brown family lived. To ensure the lifts were maintained and repaired, Aster Property Limited managed a contract with Orona Limited on behalf of Synergy Housing Limited. Alexys Brown died as a result of her injuries. She put her head through a hole in the vision panel and as the lift moved upward, the five-year-old’s head got stuck between the lift and the ground floor ceiling. On 13 August 2015, Alexys got into the lift to get her brother’s phone from upstairs. The property had an internal lift used by Alexys’ brother who suffers from a degenerative neurological condition and is wheelchair bound. Sanctuary contains a number of registered companies, with Sanctuary Housing Association being the ultimate parent undertaking.A housing association has been fined £1m following the death of a five-year-old girl who became trapped while using a lift at her home in Weymouth.Ī lift maintenance company has also been fined more than £500,000 over the case.īournemouth Crown Court heard how Alexys Brown’s family moved into the property in 2009 of which Synergy Housing Limited, as part of the Aster Group, became the owner. Sanctuary is the umbrella brand and trading name of Sanctuary Housing Association. Talbot Gardens - Barne Barton Regeneration.
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