Supermarket giant ASDA has been fined £225,000 and ordered to pay £42,000 costs after admitting health and safety breaches over the death of a customer who was killed at its store in Cardiff Bay. The tragedy occurred after an unsecured steel swing barrier was blown into their car windscreen by a sudden gust of wind. An inquest was told that the barrier, which was difficult to close, should have been locked in place with a padlock, but was not secured on the day of the incident.
ASDA's divisional environment health manager, Nicole Flint, told the inquest that she understood it was the security team's job to check the barrier was secured, but one of the guards said he had not been told to do so. The inquest also heard from shoppers who had seen the barrier swinging in the wind. Moreover, other accidents with car park barriers had taken place at other ASDA stores.
The customer's widow said that the penalty did not fit the crime and that, "The verdict the inquest jury reached was unlawful killing, so someone should have gone to prison without a shadow of a doubt."
However, solicitor, Mick Antoniw, said judges would in future be able to impose more pernicious penalties. He commented that under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which comes into force in April 2008, "There would have been a different charge, and potentially a different fine. The problem is that the law is not adequate for deaths in these circumstances and the current level of fines is acknowledged by everyone as being pitifully low and in April this year that should all change."
ASDA has since moved similar barriers from its stores and urged other supermarkets to do the same.
