UCC to receive penalty over fatal cherry-picker accident

UCC did not fully train the operator of a cherry-picker or the employee on the ground who was killed during a day’s work, a health and safety inspector said yesterday as the college said it was the first fatal accident involving a member of staff and that it operated to the world’s highest standards.

University College Cork faced penalty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday in a Health and Safety Authority prosecution arising out of a fatal accident where Frank McGrath, 58, died on March 5, 2013. They admitted two breaches.

Inspector Michael Flynn of the Health and Safety Authority said the machine, commonly called a cherry-picker, weighed about six tonnes, had a top speed of a brisk walking pace but had a significant blind spot when being moved by the operator controlling it from the console in the basket.