Prosecutions could still be made following the death of four men in a tragic industrial accident, an inquest hearing has been told.
Daniel Hazelton, 30, Thomas Hazelton, 26, Peter Johnson, 41, and Adam Taylor, 28, died on January 21, 2011 on an engineering site in Great Yarmouth.
The men, from Stanton and Rickinghall in Suffolk, were killed while working on Claxton Engineering’s site on North River Road when a steel structure collapsed.
The four men were working 4ft underground when they were crushed by the structure.
At a pre-inquest hearing at Carrow Road stadium yesterday, coroner Jacqueline Lake told the hearing that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was still considering whether to make prosecutions over the incident.
She said she was eager for any inquest not to influence those prosecutions, with the potential for witnesses to incriminate themselves in evidence.
However, she said the inquest had already been delayed and that a hearing may have to go ahead regardless.
The HSE was criticised by solicitors at the hearing for dragging their feet.
Malcolm Savory, from Birketts for Claxton Engineering, questioned why a decision on prosecutions had not been made six months ago.
“It’s been two years and 10 months since the incident and you really wonder what on earth more the HSE need to make up its mind,” he said.
Mrs Lake said she did not have the power to force the HSE into speeding up its decision-making.
Shauna Ritchie, on behalf of HSE, said the agency was dealing with “voluminous” amounts of evidence and taking time over any decision was essential.
“We are not obliged to make any decisions at this point and we could sit back and wait for the outcome of the inquest,” she said.
Mrs Lake said two more pre-inquest hearings would be held on December 13 and 24 in order for an update to be given by HSE.
A full inquest is expected in February.
Mrs Lake also told the hearing that HSE had decided not to bring prosecutions against several parties involved in the incident.
They included Matt Hazelton and Neil Gooderham, who founded Hazegood Construction in February 2008 and employed the four men.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here