A retail company has been fined £40,000 after a cleaner was crushed to death by a ten-pin bowling machine.
Inner London Crown Court heard that Ferdinand de la Cruz was working at Hollywood Bowl, Barking, East London when the incident took place on 6 July 2006. The accident was un-witnessed, and his body was found trapped underneath the machine by colleagues.
It is believed that he had been cleaning and servicing the machine that clears the skittles, but had not isolated it. While underneath the raised mechanism, it descended on top of him and pinned him to the floor. He suffered serious crush injuries to his chest, and died at the scene.
The investigation was led by Newham Council, which identified that the machine had inadequate guarding. The council’s executive member for public protection, councillor Andrew Baikie, said: “Our study discovered that machinery used nationally in bowling alleys did not have adequate safety features and therefore posed a risk to centre staff when carrying out repairs and maintenance. ”The HSE has, since the accident, issued new guidance to all local authority health and safety enforcement teams and regulators as a result. We hope the outcome of this case will ensure the future safety of all bowling alley technicians.”
Mitchells and Butlers Retail Ltd, which ran the Hollywood Bowl site, appeared in court on 4 February and pleaded guilty to breaching s33(1)(a) of the HSWA 1974. In addition to the fine it was ordered to pay £14,838 in costs.
In mitigation, the firm said it had no relevant previous convictions and had subsequently invested more than £2million to create and install adequate guarding on bowling lanes at all of its sites.
In a statement, the company said: “We are deeply sorry for this tragic event and offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Ferdinand De La Cruz. At the time of the accident there was no guarding package in use throughout the UK or Europe, nor commercially available on the market.
“In the intervening years Mitchells & Butlers has taken the lead and invested more than £2m in the process of designing, trialling and installing a new guarding system within Hollywood Bowl.
“As a result, the first HSE guidance in relation to pin-spotting machinery was issued in 2009 for the benefit of the wider industry and local council environmental health departments.”
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