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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Gym fined for banker's lift death | Gym fined for banker's lift death |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A health club and a lift company have been fined £233,000 each after a banker was crushed to death by a lift. | |
| Polish-born Katarzyna Woja, 32, was killed as she stepped out of a lift at Broadgate Health Club in the City of London on 12 March 2003. | Polish-born Katarzyna Woja, 32, was killed as she stepped out of a lift at Broadgate Health Club in the City of London on 12 March 2003. |
| She was dragged between a wall and the lift when it suddenly fell a few feet and stopped between two floor levels. | She was dragged between a wall and the lift when it suddenly fell a few feet and stopped between two floor levels. |
| ThyssenKrupp Elevator UK and Holmes Place Health Clubs previously admitted breaking health and safety laws. | ThyssenKrupp Elevator UK and Holmes Place Health Clubs previously admitted breaking health and safety laws. |
| Holmes Place admitted three counts of breaching health and safety laws while ThyssenKrup pleaded guilty to a single count. | Holmes Place admitted three counts of breaching health and safety laws while ThyssenKrup pleaded guilty to a single count. |
| The lift had dropped the day before the accident and had allegedly been repaired, Southwark Crown Court was told. | The lift had dropped the day before the accident and had allegedly been repaired, Southwark Crown Court was told. |
| Tim Owen QC, prosecuting, said: "This was an accident that didn't come out of the blue, without warning." | Tim Owen QC, prosecuting, said: "This was an accident that didn't come out of the blue, without warning." |
| 'Clear warning signs' | 'Clear warning signs' |
| He added that the reason for the drop had never been established, but it was believed to have been either a hydraulic problem or that the lift's mechanisms froze or crashed. | He added that the reason for the drop had never been established, but it was believed to have been either a hydraulic problem or that the lift's mechanisms froze or crashed. |
| Neither Holmes Place nor ThyssenKrupp responded properly to "clear warning signs" which made it "glaringly obvious" that something was seriously wrong with the lift for months, Mr Owen added. | Neither Holmes Place nor ThyssenKrupp responded properly to "clear warning signs" which made it "glaringly obvious" that something was seriously wrong with the lift for months, Mr Owen added. |
| Between 7 January 2002 and 11 March 2003, there were 41 separate callouts to the lift which killed Ms Woja, compared to an average of three a year for a well-maintained lift, Mr Owen told the court. | Between 7 January 2002 and 11 March 2003, there were 41 separate callouts to the lift which killed Ms Woja, compared to an average of three a year for a well-maintained lift, Mr Owen told the court. |
| Judge Deborah Taylor said there was a "culture of complacency" and "systemic failures" on the parts of both defendants. | Judge Deborah Taylor said there was a "culture of complacency" and "systemic failures" on the parts of both defendants. |
| In a statement read to the court, Ms Woja's widower Nebojsa Dorontic, 39, said his wife was a "very intelligent and charming young lady". | In a statement read to the court, Ms Woja's widower Nebojsa Dorontic, 39, said his wife was a "very intelligent and charming young lady". |
| The statement said: "I not only lost Katarzyna, I also lost a life partner, a wife and a true friend." | The statement said: "I not only lost Katarzyna, I also lost a life partner, a wife and a true friend." |
| William Norris QC, representing Holmes Place which is now owned by Virgin Active, said the gym firm accepted a "legal and moral responsibility for what happened". | William Norris QC, representing Holmes Place which is now owned by Virgin Active, said the gym firm accepted a "legal and moral responsibility for what happened". |
| Holmes Place did not realise ThyssenKrupp "couldn't be relied upon to do their job properly", he said. | Holmes Place did not realise ThyssenKrupp "couldn't be relied upon to do their job properly", he said. |
| Nicholas Purnell QC, representing ThyssenKrupp, blamed a "breakdown of communication and records which led to a confused state", rather than an "abject failure" on the company's part. | Nicholas Purnell QC, representing ThyssenKrupp, blamed a "breakdown of communication and records which led to a confused state", rather than an "abject failure" on the company's part. |
| Both firms made public apologies to Ms Woja's family for the first time in court. | Both firms made public apologies to Ms Woja's family for the first time in court. |