The incident happened in November 2011, in Market Street, Falmouth, when a 25kg sign outside the Mountain Warehouse store fell from above the shop front and hit Patricia Tutton on the head causing a fractured cheekbone and spinal damage.
The case was to be heard in Bodmin last week but was settled out of court between Cornwall County Council and New Life Signs Installations of Swindon but the company agreed to accept a caution under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 from police for “sloppy work.”
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Cornwall Council found that New Life Signs Installations had not fulfilled its basic duty of care to the public, with investigators discovering that the sign had been poorly fitted”
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Cornwall Council found that New Life Signs Installations had not fulfilled its basic duty of care to the public, with investigators discovering that the sign had been poorly fitted. They also found the fixings used to attach it to the store’s flimsy MDF (medium-density fibreboard) frontage were inadequate.
The sign broke free from the fascia of a Mountain Warehouse store in Falmouth, Cornwall. The shop selling outdoor clothing and equipment was not implicated in the accident. Patricia Tutton’s life was seriously affected, reported the newspaper, having to give up driving and various activities as a result of the accident.
Speaking exclusively to SignLink earlier this year, sign firm boss Tim Andrews of Hollywood Monster in Birmingham warned sign-makers of the dangers of not fixing signs firmly enough to withstand storms. He said the legal implications were serious should the sign-maker be found to have been negligent.
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CCTV: the accident was caught on video
Horror in the high street: the accident was caught on camera