A man whose biggest hobby was cycling, and much of whose social scene revolved around the sportives he rode, has said his life was now “destroyed” after he lost his leg in a work place accident.
The company he was working for at the time has been
convicted of health and safety breaches and fined €80,000.
Nicholas Geaney, who lost his leg from the knee down, was
working for Tom Lynes Plant Hire Ltd clearing trees and shrubs from the grounds
of a private house in Ballyellis, Mallow, Co Cork, on July 20th, 2018, when the
accident took place.
“My life is destroyed forever more. I cannot work anymore,”
Mr Geaney said in a victim impact statement read out in court, though he was
not present himself for the hearing.
“I used to do odd days for farmers, fencing and washing
sheds and cannot do this now. I often feel down because of what happened to me.
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“My cycling career is over. I cannot go on long cycles. I
used to do the Ring of Kerry and Ring of Beara every year.
“I used to meet friends the night before and the night
after and cannot do this anymore. Cycling was my favourite hobby and I really
miss it.”
Mr Geaney was feeding cleared greenery into a mulching
machine when an excavator working beside him struck him. His leg became trapped
under its tracks after the vehicle was reversed into him. While he was rushed
to hospital, he lost his leg as a result of the accident.
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Cork Circuit Criminal Court was told that Mr Geaney was not wearing a hi-vis vest and that he was hard of hearing, which may have contributed to the excavator reversing towards him without him realising it.
The court was also told Tom Lynes Plant Hire Ltd had a
general safety statement even though Mr Geaney did not have a safety pass.
Tom Creed SC, the barrister representing Tom Lynes Plant Hire Ltd, said his client knew Mr Geaney well and was giving him work for periods of days on a casual basis. He had apologised to Mr Geaney and was very sorry for
what had happened, adding the company was insured to cover any liability
arising.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said basic supervision was absent
on the site to keep the personnel working on the mulcher machine apart from
those working on the excavator.
He added the shortcomings in how the site was managed
caused an accident with a catastrophic impact on Mr Geaney, though he accepted
the company had an otherwise exemplary safety record.
Tom Lynes Plant Hire Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to
ensure the safety of its employees by failing to have in place an exclusion
order around works to separate pedestrians from operational vehicles.
The company also pleaded guilty to a second breach of
Health and Safety legislation in failing to ensure Mr Geaney had a valid safety
awareness registration card when operating the machine for the company.
Tom Lynes Plant Hire Ltd was fined €80,000 on conviction
and was also ordered to pay just over €10,000 in costs.
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