Asda Handed GBP225K Fine For Car Barrier Death

Tue, 22 Jan 2008
 
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Asda has been fined £267,000 after a shopper was killed by a car park barrier which plunged through his windscreen .

The supermarket giant admitted to health and safety charges brought by Cardiff Council at Newport Crown Court over the death of 37 year-old Kenneth Farr in 2002.

The tragedy occurred at the Asda store in Cardiff Bay when Mr Farr, of Penarth, was hit on the head after a steel swing barrier was blown into the path of his car by a gust of wind as he drove into the store’s car park .

Mr Farr suffered fatal head injuries, while his three year-old daughter Jessica, who was in the back of the car, luckily escaped unhurt.

In 2006, a jury at an inquest into Mr Farr’s death heard how the barrier, which was difficult to close, should have been locked in place with a padlock, but was not secured on the day Mr Farr.

The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing and Asda was fined £225,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of £42,000 over the incident. The company also apologised unreservedly to the Farr family .

However, Mr Farr's widow Helen said a fine was not enough and argued that the supermarket chain should have faced charges for manslaughter .

Speaking after the hearing, Asda's corporate affairs director, Paul Kelly, said: "The risk assessments were in place, the issues had been identified and sadly this was a failure of human error at the local level."

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