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Grieving family seek law on deaths at work
A family whose teenage son was crushed to death at work have launched a national campaign pressing for a corporate killing law.
Trainee mechanic Steven Parsons, 18, died instantly after being crushed under a lorry at Balby, near Doncaster, on March 7, 2000.
Mr Parsons, of Sheffield Road, Warmsworth, Doncas-ter, was working on the truck with colleagues when the rear end fell, pinning him down.
An inquest recorded a verd-ict of accidental death, although the coroner stipulated this was not without culpability.
Truck Craft, of Greenfield Lane, Balby, has since been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after it emerged during the inquest that the proper supporting equipment had not been used.
The company was fined 14,000 and the owner, Haydn Michael Prior, was given a 12-month conditional discharge after he admitted breaching the Health and Safety Act by failing to provide a safe system for employees.
But Steven's parents, Elaine and Alan, say this is not en-ough justice for their son and are urging the Government to introduce a law for families to be able to prosecute on the grounds of corporate killing.
Their plea comes only days after union leaders from the TUC lobbied the Government to change the law to include a crime of corporate killing as promised by Labour in its 2001 general election manifesto.
Mrs Parsons said yesterday: "Nothing much was done when our son was killed. He was a trainee mechanic so he should have been properly supervised but it is clear he was not. Nor was he given the right instructions.
"It came out at the inquest that the wrong jack had been used to lift the lorry and this had been placed in the wrong position. There should also have been other supports under the lorry but these were not in place.
"The company was taken to court and they pleaded guilty but that was it. We just did not know what to do after the inquest or trial. Nobody was there to advise us."
In the end they searched the Internet for help and came across the TUC campaign.
"What we want is a corporate killing law," Mrs Parsons said, adding that she had been in touch with Caroline Flint, Labour MP for Don Valley, in the hope of her support.
"If Steven had been killed by a drunk driver there are courts of law to punish the person for causing his death. But because he was killed at work there is no such justice.
"We know there are other people out there in a similar position to us not knowing where to turn. That is why we have set up a website in Steven's name to help other families like ours."
She said the website is at www.stevenparsons.co.uk
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