A chef was killed in a workplace accident in 2004 when he was crushed in a lift shaft as he attempted to clean a dumb-waiter, an inquest has heard.
Shaun Kerrigan (45), Crumlin Park, Crumlin, Dublin, was killed when his head and neck were crushed by a lift shaft at Simpson's Hospital, Ballinteer Road, Dundrum, Dublin, where he worked as a chef at the nursing home.
Mr Kerrigan had placed his upper body into the shaft as he cleaned food debris from a dumb-waiter above with a sweeping brush. Another member of staff, unaware that Mr Kerrigan was working inside the lift shaft in the basement, pressed the button to summon the dumb-waiter, causing the life shaft to move upwards and crush Mr Kerrigan.
The accident took place on January 12th, 2004. Mr Kerrigan died of severe crush injuries to the head and neck three days later. A jury at Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday returned a verdict of accidental death.
Mr Kerrigan had decided not to go to work the night before the accident as he was feeling unwell but then changed his mind the following morning. Susan Kerrigan said her husband went to work because he thought his employer would be unhappy otherwise. "The next morning he said 'they'd have a face on them if I don't go in'," she told the court.
Ms Kerrigan had recently given birth to the couple's first child, a baby girl.
Emmet Corrigan, manager at the hospital, told the court he had been assisting Mr Kerrigan clean the dumb-waiter. He was leaving the basement to get a vacuum cleaner to help with the job when the accident occurred. "I heard a choking sound. I came back and he was kneeling down with his head trapped in the lift shaft."
Mr Corrigan said Mr Kerrigan was an extremely conscientious chef who kept an impeccably clean kitchen. The court heard that the dumb-waiter was not deactivated at the time of the accident and other staff members were unaware that Mr Kerrigan was working in the shaft below.
Brendan Underwood, a care worker, summoned the dumb-waiter that activated the lift shaft and led to the accident. "I wasn't aware he was cleaning it. I wouldn't have used it if I'd known," he said.
Since the accident, Simpson's Hospital has installed a new lift system and staff members are no longer permitted to be involved in its maintenance in any way.
The inquest heard that court proceedings were brought against the hospital in relation to breach of statutory duty.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he believed Mr Kerrigan would have been rendered unconscious almost immediately following the accident.