McLaren division fined £650,000 after engineer fell to his death at warehouse
A division of Formula One motor racing firm McLaren has been fined £650,000 after an engineer fell to his death at a warehouse.
David Oldham, 55, fell from a height while inspecting McLaren’s Formula One Brand Centre, a mobile building taken to Grand Prix meetings, at a warehouse in Maidenhead in October 2016.
The company was found guilty last month of two health and safety charges over the death of the senior engineer.
Mr Oldham’s employer, Zurich Management Services, was found not guilty of a safety offence.
His wife Patricia said recalling the incident made her ‘physically want to vomit’.
She told Reading Crown Court she has been living in ‘limboland’ and still cannot sleep at night more than six years after the incident.
Appearing by videolink at Reading Crown Court she said: ‘I am especially lonely and I feel like a burden to all my family.
‘I miss my husband so much. The pain breaks my heart. Every night I say goodnight to David and every morning I expect to have him still beside me.
‘This is a tragedy for my husband. He lost his life. He lost his retirement. He lost the chance to see his grandchildren grow up.
‘My darling husband’s life was taken away from him. On the same day my life ended too.’
Mrs Oldham also spoke of the heartbreak of having to turn her husband’s life support off.
She said their children are traumatised without their father and spoke about the pain of their daughter no longer having someone to walk her down the aisle.
Mrs Oldham said her six granddaughters had each been affected in their own way.
She added: ‘No one is home to greet me any more. I no longer have anyone talk to. I cannot talk about my day and I cannot discuss any of my concerns or worries. I no longer have anyone I can confide in.’
Mr Oldham, a father of five, was described as a ‘very experienced inspector’ who went to inspect the brand centre on October 17 with a colleague.
He first inspected the mobile building in 2011 and the last visit was the fifth time he had looked at the structure.
On the second day of the inspection Mr Oldham fell from a height.
He was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he died on October 19, the court heard.
The court heard that the temporary building had been set up and taken down 183 times, and taken to races around Europe, before Mr Oldham fell.
People were advised to stay two metres from the edges of the unit but it was not in any written documents, the court was told.
In total McLaren was fined £650,000 and asked to pay £110,132 in costs.
Alex Stein, prosecuting, previously said McLaren Services updated its health and safety policy for working at height in December 2016.
HSE inspector Saffron Turnell said: ‘Patricia’s powerful words make clear the impact David’s loss has had on her life.
‘This is a devastating tragedy and our thoughts remain with her and David’s family.
‘Work at height is a high-risk activity and falls can result in life-changing injuries and death. It’s the number one reason why people like David didn’t get home from work. Those responsible to ensure his health and safety failed to do so.
‘It is very important that those in control of the work identify the risk, plan to eliminate it if possible, or where it is not possible, take appropriate precautions to safeguard workers and others. Good management will also include regular monitoring that the controls in place are keeping people safe.’
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