THE death of a man more than five years after an accident on a building site in York, was caused by his injuries an inquest has determined.

Sean Anthony Sweeney was working in Foss Islands Road during the construction of the Waitrose store in October 2010, when he was crushed against a metal gate by a dumper truck he had been driving.

The accident left him without use of his limbs or torso, and he had been in hospital for almost six years before his death in March last year at the age of 26 from severe respiratory failure.

A jury at an inquest at New Earswick Folk Hall on Monday found Mr Sweeney’s death to have been as a result of the accident, concluding he died “of severe respiratory failure due to the injuries sustained in the accident”.

York Press:

North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive investigated the accident, and the HSE sent a letter to the firm which employed Mr Sweeney, Howards Civil Engineering stating improvement was needed on their record keeping.

Kirsty Hirst, from the HSE, said a lack of witnesses to the accident meant the investigation into the accident was based on probability. Tests showed the dumper truck’s handbrake was in good condition, and the parking brake was working, but not optimally adjusted, meaning it could move at between 0.6mph and 1mph if the vehicle was left running in gear.

HSE protocol said all operators should remove the key when leaving the vehicle. However, it did not appear Mr Sweeney had done so, meaning the dumper crept forward over about nine seconds as he opened the gate, and he did not realise until it was too late.

Ms Hirst said: “We believe that the machine was dismounted and left in gear and held on the parking brake. Sean walked down and closed the gates. The park brake was not properly adjusted, and the dumper crept forward.

“The keys were left in the ignition. If the handbrake had been properly adjusted, he would have got away with that. If it had been properly adjusted, it wouldn’t have moved, but it should have been switched off as well.”

Traffic Constable Dave Foster of North Yorkshire Police investigated the scene, and said: “Given the circumstances, it is my view the incident could only have arisen from error by the operator.”

Mr Sweeney’s mother Marie said Sean had been treated in York Hospital and the LGI, before being moved to Stocksbridge Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Neurological Care Centre in Sheffield, but had been readmitted to hospital on several occasions.

She said: “It was heartbreaking to see your child like that and the worst thing was there was nothing any of us could do. It just completely shattered our family. Life changed, everything changed that day forever, we just didn’t realise how serious the repercussions would be.

“It would be selfish of me to say I didn’t want him to go. I was sad I would never see him again, that broke our hearts, but we had to look at the good part, that he was out of his suffering, because he did suffer an awful lot of that five-and-a-half years.”

Mrs Sweeney, from Whinmoor, Leeds, said: “I will always remember him as a lovely, helpful, kind son and brother to his sisters as well and loved by his friends. Obviously the void that his accident and death have left will be something that can never be filled. He will never be replaced, but we have to learn to move on now and come to terms with it.”