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By Megan Hillery
After a construction worker died after falling through the barn roof, the judge found the company to have shown “willful indifference” towards the dangers.
Accommodation provider and former managing director of the company were fined thousands after a Silverstone contractor who was working at a site rented by them fell through the roof.
Snoozebox provided accommodation for the British Grand Prix 2016 at Silverstone.
The company rented out two barns on Primrose Farm. One of the barns was used for dining and required repairs because it had a leaky roofing and there were suspicions about asbestos.
Lucian Petraru (28), fell through the roof on 20 August 2016, while doing repairs. He suffered a serious head injury. Five days later, he died of pneumonia and sepsis.
Snoozebox, which was facing financial problems at the time, had appointed brothers Gaurav Mohindra and Gautam in order to cut costs.
Northampton Crown Court heard Wednesday, July 5, that he hired Mr Petraru because in the past he did “handyman’s” work for Mohindra. He did this because he saw no evidence that Mr Petraru was competent, experienced or knowledgeable.
Mohindra was quoted PS200 by Mr Petraru to make the same repairs as Snoozebox, which had been quoted PS5,000 by another contractor.
She said that the failure of the Mohindra company to share pertinent information with all managers was the reason why Mohindra’s name had been left out in the correspondence between the two contractors.
Mohindra claims that Mr Petraru only conducted an evaluation of the roof repair needs. The court found that he, along with Mr Petraru, were part of a WhatsApp group which detailed all the necessary work, such as the repairs of the roof, and included photos to illustrate this.
The Judge Crane said in his decision: “There were no checks made to make sure that there was not work being done at height or the safety measures needed if such work was taking place.”
She said that Mohindra’s texts showed “a clear desire” to reduce costs, and included one in which she asked Mr Petraru wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Snoozebox told Mr Petraru, and another contractor that they should come down from the barn roof when they first climbed on it. However, the two were not removed.
According to the court, Mr Petraru climbed onto the roof for the second day without any safety gear. The Health and Safety Executive claims that the contractors acted without instruction after the initial breach. Therefore, neither Mahindra or Snoozebox is responsible for the actions of Mr Petraru.
On August 20, 2016, Mr Petraru climbed the roof without anyone else. The next day, a table with blood on it was discovered in the barn. Mr Petraru’s jet washer had still been running.
Five days after Mr Petraru’s death, he was discovered dead in a Snoozebox accommodation pod.
Watson KC said that Snoozebox had a clean record, and it took immediate action to correct unsafe conditions.
Since 2016, he has suffered a great deal from the death of Lucian Petraru. Matthews said, in defending Gaurav, Mohindra: “He’s been truly tormented since 2016 by the death of Lucian Petraru.” Matthews, who represents Gaurav Mohindra, said: “He has been genuinely tormented by the loss of Lucian Petraru’s life since 2016.
The court stated that Mohindra “has no desire” to perform this kind of work and actively avoids doing it. Mohindra owned several small businesses in the past, and now has one which pays him PS10,000.
The court stated that Mohindra was the main caregiver of his parents, and had a great reputation.
Matthews said it was “unusual”, in cases involving health and safety, for Mohindra to not be interviewed, invited to present his case, or informed that an investigation was underway.
This argument was not accepted by the judge because Mohindra had initially pleaded guilty for failing to protect people not under his employment against health and safety hazards. After the conclusion of prosecution, he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.
In sentencing Judge Crane stated, “This work was on a roof of a barn over four meters tall.” Roof was in a very bad condition. Even if the work was only for a few minutes, it would still have been dangerous to do without PPE.
She said that “risks were taken despite the willful ignorance of them.”
The company was found guilty of violating an occupational health and safety rule and fined PS140,000. It also had to pay PS26.332 in costs.
The defendant of Wentworth Avenue in Finchley (London) received a 12-month community order. He must also perform 180 unpaid hours and pay PS15.774 for prosecution costs.
