A JURY has called for medical assistance to be automatically sought in the event of all workplace accidents, following the death of a man who returned home rather than going to hospital after he was struck by a pallet box weighing more than 700kg (1,550lb).
Francis Bergin (60), Primrose Grove, Darndale, Dublin, a warehouse operative, was helping a colleague, David Cole, to move a pallet at his place of work, Landbridge Logistics, Coolock Industrial Estate, in December 2006, when he was struck on the shoulder by a pallet box containing a safe.
The court heard it was company policy at Landbridge Logistics in the event of an injury at work that a doctor or ambulance be called automatically, but that guideline was not adhered to in this case.
Mr Cole told the court there was no labelling on the box and that he would never have attempted to move it with a pallet truck had he realised it was "top-heavy", but would have instead used a fork lift.
He said cartons were frequently labelled inadequately. "If it had been a standard pallet, it wouldn't have toppled. It was unstable. To me, it's a disgrace."
A jury of five men and one woman recorded a verdict of accidental death in the workplace. It recommended an ambulance be called in the event of an accident at work, regardless of the desires of the injured party; a "first aider" be present at all times on shift, and pallets be assessed and identified upon arrival.
The jury asked coroner Dr Brian Farrell to write to the Department of Transport concerning unlabelled boxes.