A COMPANY has been ordered to pay almost £100,000 for health and safety failings which saw a worker plunge to his death down a lift shaft.

Kevin Shickle died while carrying out renovation work for Durham Estates Ltd at an office in Sunderland.

The firm pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure persons out of their employment were not exposed to risk.

At Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, Judge James Goss QC heard evidence from health and safety experts to determine the severity of the failings by the firm and whether they were a direct cause of Mr Shickle’s death.

The company claimed Mr Shickle had gone beyond his job specification and had been killed carrying out work he was not asked to do.

But Judge Goss dismissed the claim outright. He said: “Mr Shickle was inadequately instructed and inappropriately left to his own devices. The failings giving rise to the offences were a significant cause of his death.”

The judge fined the company £85,000 for the health and safety breach and said it must pay £12,000 costs.

Judge Goss added: “The fine is not and cannot be any reflection of the value of the life of Kevin Shickle, a hard-working family man whose life was so tragically lost. No doubt he will be greatly missed.”

Mr Shickle was taken on to carry out specialist renovation work at Durham Estates offices in Temple Chambers, Duoro Avenue, Sunderland.

The 52-year-old had been employed by the firm, which was converting its dining room and kitchen into a gymnasium with changing rooms. The court heard Mr Shickle had been given a specification sheet when he started the job, which involved removing two lift systems from the premises.

Prosecutor Michael Graham said: “It fails to make any specific reference to health and safety issues or safeguard measures and does not at all address the question of what was to happen in relation to the removal of the dumb waiter (lift) carriages.”

The court heard Mr Shickle began working on the project on October 4, 2010.

It was on October 7 a company director from Tavistock Leisure, Durham Estate’s sister firm, found Mr Shickle trapped, but still alive, in a shaft, three meters below ground level.

Mr Graham said: “The fall resulted in significant injuries which led to a severe stroke, which was the eventual cause of death (on October 9).”

Mr Graham added: “Although Mr Shickle was a capable handyman, he had no specialist experience or access to specialist equipment. The prosecution say a job of this nature should have involved a specialist lift engineer from the outset.”

The court heard Durham Estates Ltd had a previously clean health and safety record.

John Williams, defending the firm, said: “Can I express the company’s regret for this accident and the tragic death and articulate the company’s apology for its breach of duty.”