Michael's Story: Lessons learned from an entirely preventable death

Safety Smart are delighted to invite you to the first in our series of Health & Safety seminars for 2017. The overall aim of these seminars is to improve Health & Safety in the workplaces of those who attend, and to raise awareness around Health & Safety best practice. The events will consider Health and Safety Management from a strategic point of view, Health and Safety roles and responsibilities and will endeavour to make safety personal and give individuals the courage to stop when unsure.

Michael's Story: Lessons learned from an entirely preventable death

Michael was an experienced spark, who died on 4 August 2005 as the result of an electrical incident. He was only 26 years old and was engaged to be married. Like so many work-related deaths, it was an incident which could and should have been prevented. Motivated by the need to stop this from happening to others, Michael's story is told by his sister Louise Taggart.

Louise will present alongside Health & Safety solicitor, Kate Hargan. She will give an account of the catalogue of errors in Health & Safety management that led to Michael's death, the prosecution and the terrible impact his death has had. The lessons learned from this case can be applied across many trades and industries. Kate will examine how such a case would be dealt with by the court today, post the Corporate Manslaughter Act and the new sentencing guidelines.