The family of a courier driver who was seriously injured after he fell off a cargo loading bay at Dublin Airport and later died has settled a High Court action.
The settlement was against Aer Lingus, which had previously been fined €250,000 for a health and safety breach in relation to the death of 55-year-old father of two, John Murray.
Mr Murray fell from a loading bay suffering serious head injuries, the High Court heard on Tuesday. The family's counsel, Andrew Walker SC told the court it was a tragic case and Mr Murray, from Skerries, Co Dublin, died five days later in hospital.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told the case had been settled after mediation and a “very sizeable settlement" had been achieved. A separate action brought by Mr Murray's daughter, Alanna, who was 13-years-old when her father died, was also settled.
In a statement on behalf of the family afterwards, the family solicitor Dermot McNamara said while they are relieved the case has eventually been settled, they are "extremely disappointed" they were forced to fight for more than five years and liability was only conceded in September last year.
'No remedy'
“Financial compensation is no remedy for the loss of a loved one and what value it has is diminished when a grieving family is required to risk their limited financial resources bringing High Court proceedings against the combined resources of a multinational company and semi-State company,” he said.
He added: “The Murrays request that Aer Lingus carry out a review of this case in the hope they learn from their mistakes both in relation to compliance with health and safety regulations and how to deal more sensitively with a grieving family.”
Mr Murray's widow, Angela, had sued her husband's employers, DB Schenker Ireland Ltd, with registered offices at Swords Road, Dublin and Schenker (Ireland) Ltd, with registered offices at Shannon, Co Clare, and Aer Lingus Ltd over the death of her husband on November 10th, 2014 at the Aer Lingus Cargo terminal at Dublin Airport.
It was claimed there was a failure to provide adequate or sufficient lighting at the loading bay and that access to the loading bay was by way of a crate which it was claimed they knew, or ought to have known, was dangerous and unsafe.
Mr Justice Coffey was told that liability was conceded by the defendants last September and the settlement is against Aer Lingus.
In 2017, Aer Lingus was fined €250,000 for a health and safety breach in connection with the death of Mr Murray. The company admitted exposing non-employees to risks to their health and safety in relation to a practice which had developed of cargo drivers habitually gaining access to a loading bay by climbing on and off a 3ft high loading dock.
Mr Murray (55), of Skerries, Co Dublin, was getting down from a loading bay at a cargo warehouse with some light parcels at the airport at night when he fell and suffered fatal head injuries.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he was discovered lying on his back unconscious approximately 25 minutes later.
The company pleaded guilty through a representative that it failed to manage and conduct its undertaking in such a way as to ensure that individuals who were not its employees were not exposed to risks to their safety, health or welfare at or near Gate 7 at Aer Lingus Cargo Warehouse on November 5th, 2014.
The full charge specified that there was a failure to ensure adequate measures were in place to protect people from the risk of a fall from height and that there was a failure to implement its written procedures dealing with driver access to loading bays.
Handing down the fine, Judge Martin Nolan noted Mr Murray’s death had been devastating for his family and had left a huge hole in their lives.
He also noted the company had a generally good record and that steps had been taken to address this practice since the incident.
