UK Coal Breached Health and Safety in Miner’s Death
The 2009 death of a coal miner has now been ruled a breach of safety and health laws. The Leeds Crown Court heard the case last week and the company UK Coal admitted their fault in the incident. They admit to failing to provide proper support to the roof. They also state they did not properly maintain the mine that led to the health and safety incident.
Another company will also be prosecuted for the incident. Joy Mining Machinery was also found at fault due to the equipment onsite. They failed to ensure that proper health and safety training was provided for the company and miners using the equipment.
The trial for Joy Mining is to take place later in 2012. The court date has not been set yet. The equipment that was found to be a part of the incident accounted for three other mining incidents. The 2009 case was one of three. Another individual died in 2008 due to an underground incident relating to mining equipment and roof support. UK Coal has already paid out £1.2 million in fines and costs due to four other deaths. These four incidents happened in Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. These are different sites than that of the three more recent deaths. Mining is definitely a dangerous industry in which to work, for those running the company or working in the mine. Everyone has to have proper training on the equipment to avoid incidents such as the above.
