Request for Change in Health and Safety Laws
A severely disabled man was dropped down an escalator recently by his caretaker. This has launched a request to change health and safety laws.
An elderly couple in Dumfries is asking the Scottish government to change the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) after the caretaker dropped their son down an escalator. There are no laws for health and safety at work that cover the caretaker/disabled situation at issue. Their son has cerebral palsy and cannot walk, feed himself or talk. He was injured at a shopping centre in 2010, but the case is still up for discussion.
The caretaker decided to take their son up the escalator instead of the lift. The lift was working and was located just 20 feet away. The worker got him on the first step with a struggle and eventually the wheelchair, the caretaker, and the son tumbled down the escalator with the teeth mechanism catching and digging into the son.
The Health and Safety Act of 1974 for work place laws does not cover private householder relationships with staff in their employ when it is a domestic service. Thus, there does not seem to be a way to make certain the caretaker has to take responsibility for his negligence. The family wishes there were some laws such as a required health and safety risk assessment course for caretakers and a law in place to help protect those injured in cases such as this.
