A Stoke-on-Trent based company has admitted to failing to ensure the safety of customers, after two men lost their lives when they suffered from a Legionnaires disease outbreak.
The two men died after breathing-in the waterborne disease at a hot tub display, located within a JTF Wholesale store in the Fenton area of the city.
21 other individuals were also hit by the disease during the outbreak in 2012.
According to local paper, the Stoke Sentinel, the firm admitted at Stafford Crown Court the breach in health and safety rules.
The prosecution said there should have been better maintenance of the hot tub area and a more thorough risk assessment of the display.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, representing the company, said the firm accepted it had ‘not shown the compassion expected’ regarding the loss, and suffering to families of the victims.
He said it was ‘not a case of putting profits before training or doing things on the cheap’ and the firm did accept there was ‘a fault in putting a rigorous system in place in accordance with guidance.’
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