The widow of a man who was killed when he was crushed by a paper shredding machine he was cleaning has won over £400,000 compensation from his employers.
Kevin Arnup, aged 36, was killed on 22 December 2003 at the MW White Ltd recycling plant in Ketteringham in Norfolk. He had climbed into a paper shredder to unblock it when the machine started up, crushing him to death.
Mr Arnup left behind three children: Claire, Kelly and Jason. He also has four grandchildren, two of whom have been born since his death.
Melanie Arnup of Bowers Avenue, Mile Cross, Norwich, sued her husband’s employers and was awarded the full amount sought of £400,000 after three Court of Appeal judges ruled that £229,600 already paid to her in employee benefits would not count in any compensation . MW White Ltd’s lawyers had admitted liability but were arguing that this amount should be deducted from the compensation total.
Company Director Paul White, aged 43, was sentenced to 12 months in jail and fined £30,000 after he admitted a charge of corporate manslaughter and separate Health and Safety breaches in September 2005 at Norwich Crown Court. Mr Arnup’s teenage son Jason was also in the shredder when the accident happened but he managed to escape uninjured.
An investigation into the accident was carried out jointly by Norfolk Constabulary CID and the HSE. It revealed that the machine was not securely isolated whilst work was being carried out. It had no safe system for such work and that the electrical controls were contaminated with dust. This meant that the emergency stop button failed to work. Mr Justice Bell who sentenced Paul White said the safety breaches were “chronic”.
At a preliminary hearing in March 2007, High Court judge Richard Seymour QC said that £129,600 paid to the family through a death in service benefit scheme must be deducted from any compensation. He rejected MW White Ltd’s claim that another £100,000 received under a life policy from the firms employee benefit trust should also be deducted.
The three Court of Appeal judges, Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Ward, and Lord Justice Dyson have now agreed that both previous payments fell within the scope of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and should be disregarded in the assessment of damages. Mr Arnup’s family will now also receive £ 400,000 in compensation in addition to the £229,600 they have already received.
Mrs Arnup said: “I am relived that Kevin’s death was investigated and that justice has been done and someone has accepted responsibility. But whatever punishment given to the company or any amount of money paid to us will not make any difference to us because it can never bring Kevin back.”