|
|
 |
| |
 Ralph Kennedy |
After 14 months, a Health & Safety probe and an inquest, Camden now admits…
‘WE ARE TO BLAME FOR BARNEY’S DEATH’
HOUSING chiefs have come clean and admitted liability for the death of a scaffolder who was electrocuted while working on a council estate.
The admission has paved the way for a massive compensation payout towards the upbringing of Ralph Kennedy’s children.
Lawyers fighting the case said it had taken Camden too long to admit responsibility.
Mr Kennedy, 24, – better known by the boyhood nickname Barney – died when he touched a faulty light fitting on the Mayford estate, Somers Town, in September last year.
Neil Litherland, Camden’s housing director, said on Monday: “We are extremely sorry for Mr Kennedy’s tragic death last year. We again offer our sincere condolence to his family for their loss. We accept liability for the three civil claims against the council. Details of settlements for each claim will be agreed with our insurers.”
The identity of those making the claims has not been released but, as the New Journal exclusively revealed in April, lawyers acting on behalf of Kelly Ivory, Mr Kennedy’s girlfriend and the mother of two of his children, have been preparing a civil case for months.
They have always been confident that the Town Hall would eventually have to accept responsibility for the tragedy.
Patrick Allen, from the Camden Town law firm Hodge, Jones and Allen, said yesterday: “Kelly and her family have had to wait far too long for this admission. Kelly says that she is still to receive an apology from Camden for what happened. This is a welcome development and will simplify and speed up the case to be brought against Camden. I am not surprised that they have admitted the claim, but dismayed that it has taken them so long to decide to do so.”
Camden hired its own lawyer to represent the council at a coroner’s inquest earlier this year and at that time were not prepared to comment on liability. The jury at the inquest reached an open verdict after hearing that an investigation into who cut a safety wire, which could have saved Mr Kennedy’s life, had drawn a blank due to patchy records of repairs.
Mr Kennedy lived with Ms Ivory and their two children Bailey, five, and Bethany, three, in a flat in Royal College Street, Camden Town.
“If Camden had fought the case they would have lost,” said Mr Allen. “It should have been obvious to Camden within a few weeks of the accident in September 2006, that it was a failure in maintenance which made the light fitting a death trap to anyone who touched it.”
Another of the claims has been made by Mr Kennedy’s former girlfriend Nicola Moir, on behalf her daughter. She was not represented legally at the inquest but came forward after the case and said that Mr Kennedy had fathered her child.
The third claim is thought to have been made by a Police Community Support Officer who was injured when he received a shock from the light as he tried to help Mr Kennedy.
The sizes of the potential settlements are not being discussed publicly but could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Mr Litherland said: “The Health and Safety Executive investigation is ongoing. We continue to work with them to ensure safety on our property. Safety of our residents, staff and visitors is and will remain of the greatest concern to us.”
Camden spent £2 million earlier this year on an inspection programme of all electrical appliances on its council estates. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
