A Bishop Auckland firm has fined after one of its workers was killed when his ride-on mower fell on top of him, then into a village pond.
MHS Countryside Management Limited was fined £27,000 and ordered to pay £11,166 in costs at York Magistrates’ Court on February 17, after the death of Kamil Grygieniec on October 8, 2021.
The 23-year-old, from Poland but living in Northallerton, was working his last day for the company, cutting grass on a steep incline around a village pond in North Stainley near Ripon when the mower fell onto him blades first.
A three day inquest at Thirsk Racecourse in November concluded that his death was an accident, and a probe from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to carry out a site specific risk assessment for the works.
They also revealed that the mower was being used without a safety-critical roll-over protection system (ROPS) fitted and had in fact been removed.
HSE Inspector Darian Dundas said: “This is a profoundly tragic case which is made all the more harrowing because the safety feature designed to prevent incidents like this had been removed from the lawnmower – leading to the fatal turn of events which has robbed a family of their loved one.
“The completion of a suitable and sufficient site-specific risk assessment is vital before undertaking work activities and ensures appropriate action can be taken to eliminate hazards or, where this is not possible, to properly control the risks.
“In this case, the failure to assess the risks and ensure suitable safety measures were in place resulted in a tragic and entirely avoidable loss of life.”
A post-mortem examination concluded Kamil died as a result of 'significant' blunt force head injuries, and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
The former Darlington College and Carlisle university student was due to start a new job the following week.
Kamil’s parents, Ewa and Krzysztof, said they believe their son's death "could have been prevented" as they spoke of their grief.
They said: “The pain I feel every day since that tragedy is unimaginable, I do not wish that on anybody. That day I lost part of me.
“I will never be able to hug him, tell him how much I love him. I will never receive flowers from him, will never meet him wife or his children. Kamil was my physical and mental support.
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“That day was his last day at that workplace and it happened to be the last day of his short life.”
They added: “I don’t know what life holds for the future for me, but what I am certain of is it will not be as full or as happy now that Kamil has gone from our lives.
“What makes it even worse, I believe his death could have been prevented and should never have happened.”
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