Lawyers Demand Answers After Seven Year Wait for Companies to Admit Liability in Fatal Lift Accident
08/03/2010
Lawyers acting on behalf of a husband whose wife was crushed to death by a faulty lift at a Central London gym have demanded to know why a lift was allowed to turn into a “death trap”.
Katarzyna Woja, a 32-year-old City worker from Hornsey, North London, was crushed to death when a lift at the then Holmes Place gym near Liverpool Street station dropped past the exit level as she tried to step out in March 2003.
The manufacturer of the lift, ThyssenKrupp Elevators Limited, the world’s largest lift manufacturer, pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mrs Woja today at Southwark Crown Court. The plea matches the admission of guilt made by Virgin Active, which now operates the gym, made last December.
But Keith Barrett Legal Executive Lawyer and Partner at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in fatal accident claims, claims that the two companies have deprived her husband, Nebojsa Dorontic of the right to know why his wife died and why simple repairs were not made.
Investigations into the accident fount that the lift was inspected by ThyssenKrupp Elevators Limited the day before the incident and because of the guilty plea, Mr Barrett believes the lack of a full trial means that lessons may not be learnt to prevent a similar accident from occurring in the future.
“Despite both Defendants now having pleaded guilty, we are still no closer to understanding why Ms Woja died,” he claimed. “Both defendants have taken years to admit fault for turning a gym lift into a death trap and have even made two attempts to get the criminal case against them struck out. Yet they are still to explain why basic maintenance was not carried out.
“If a bus or a train is known to be faulty, you take it out of service and wouldn’t let people on. This should have been no different.”
“Today’s hearing leaves nothing but unanswered questions and a very sour taste in the mouth of all concerned”, Mr Dorontic said. “By not having a full trial the remaining members of Katarzyna’s family and I may never know why she died and that is the least we deserve after all this time.
“After seven long years, the companies involved have walked away determined that they will never have to explain why simple maintenance was not carried out that would have meant would have saved my wife’s life.
My wife was a charming and intelligent woman with whom I was very much in love,” he added. “She went to work that morning as usual but by lunchtime my life had been ripped apart.”
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