Crane death £1m compensation bid
Partner of man tragically crushed to death on a building site launches High Court action
THE fiancée of the carpenter crushed to death on a Hampstead building site has launched a £1million High Court compensation bid.
The legal action comes nine months after the tragic death of Craig Page, 26, who was crushed to death in March when a crane in Denning Road fell on top of him.
Michelle O’Donoghue, who lived with him in Holloway with their toddler daughter, is suing construction firm Harris Calnan for negligence, according to a writ filed by her lawyer Suzanne Gulshan of Romain Coleman Solicitors on Thursday.
The claim follows the halting of an inquest into Mr Page’s death in September, which left Ms O’Donoghue, his partner of 10 years, frustrated after two key witnesses – the construction site’s director and the driver of the crane – refused to comment on how the tragedy unfolded.
Coroner Dr Andrew Reid adjourned his investigation after they said they would answer “no comment” to any questions on the case until separate police and health and safety investigations are completed.
Ms O’Donoghue, 29, said Mr Page would have had another 40 years of working life ahead of him and that she remained determined to find out what happened and whether someone was at fault.
“You can’t put a figure on a life,” she said.
“I’ll never be happy. It’s hard for me, not to know what happened. They said ‘no comment’ at the inquest and I need to know what happened.”
The writ alleges Harris Calnan failed to carry out a risk assessment of the site and that staff did not have access to a safe workplace.
It also claims the crane was unsuitable for the site and that required safety checks were not carried out.
Harris Calnan declined to comment on the case when contacted by the New Journal.
CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS