INSUFFICIENT CARE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 96, 17 January 1935, Page 14

INSUFFICIENT CARE

Fall of a Brick Wall CONTRACTOR’S DEATH A verdict Unit death was caused through insufficient care being takeu when deceased was engaged in demolishing a*brick wail at the rear of a shop in Ghuznee Street on January 8 was returned by the coroner, Mr. E. Gilbertson, at the close of an inquest into the death of Charles Hyne Fisher, manager of the Wellington Demolition Company. Alfred Kerr, a labourer, who was working with Fisher at the time of the accident, said that the piece of wall which collapsed was about Sift, by sft. and 9in, thick. Brieks fell on Fisher’s head and the upper part of his body. Fisher took every precaution against accident and had had long experience in that class of work. James Alexander Souter, a scaffolding inspector, said that Fisher contracted to demolish a 9in. brick partition at the rear of a shop at 66 Ghuznee Street, and had completed the work except for one bay approximately oft. 6in. long and 18ft. high. The method adopted was to knock off the top bricks from a ladder until the wall could be pulled over. Witness did not believe that underpins were used while the scarfing process was being carried out. “In my opinion the fatality was due to carelessness on the part of Fisher.” he stated. He considered it was impossible for the wall to have stood in position without the aid of an underpin. The coroner found that death was caused through Fisher being crushed by a fall of bricks from a portion of a wall he was demolishing, sufficient care not having been taken by the deceased in carrying out the work. He was of the opinion that Fisher died immediately. Senior-Sergeant D. L. Calwell represented the police.