Case study: Pizza Express (2015)
Relevance of this case
I reference this case in Chapter 10 of my book, because it illustrates how awareness of a specific accident can impact your personal assessment of the likelihood of that type of accident, and of the consequences of the accident. It’s also referenced in my article about the evidence for and against manual handling training, to illustrate how a serious injury can result from manual handling activity which isn’t well planned.
The reason this case is so personal relates to the first time I was ever asked to provide IOSH Managing Safely training, in the Spring of 2012. I was sent by a 3rd party to a small, listed building in Soho, London. At the time it was occupied by a restaurant called Kettners owned by Pizza Express. It closed for a couple of years around 2016 (a year after the judgement), and I understand it opened under new ownership as a members’ hotel and champagne bar.
The reason so many of the staff were all doing the IOSH Managing Safely courses was that there had been an accident the previous year (2011) in which someone had been badly hurt. I was shown the staircase with its awkward turn, and the window – now with bars on it. The staff were motivated to learn.
A few years later the case came to court, so I will only share the details that were published at the time.
History
Other than understanding that this is a difficult building to modify, the history isn’t that important, so skip to the headlines if you’re not interested. But I like history, so here are a few details:
- Opened in 1867 by Auguste Kettner, said to have been the personal chef of Napolean III.
- Edward VII (when the Prince of Wales), Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde have all visited.
- The wrought-iron, brass-railed staircase is an original 19th century feature.
I wish I’d taken more photos, but this was 2012 before the advent of the camera phone. Even under the management of Pizza Express, it didn’t feel like a pizza joint. I was never offered a full meal, but we did have some tasty snacks.
Headlines
- Failure to plan a manual handling task results in life-changing injuries
- A suitable and sufficient risk assessment would have identified the risk of moving something so heavy on stairs, and avoided the need to move the cupboard.
Case details
On 8 December 2011 the head chef asked 28-year old Kamil Pisarek and three other employees to carry a heavy hot cupboard weighing 168kg from the first floor to the second floor. As a grade-II listed building, the staircase was narrow, and the cupboard became stuck on one of the landings (a flatter area between two runs of stairs). While trying to free the unit, Kamil fell backwards through the window and landed on the pavement five metres below.
Kamil suffered serious spinal injuries and as a result is tetraplegic.
Outcome
Pizza Express (Restaurants) Ltd pleaded guilty to HSW S2, and was fined £200,000 and charged costs of £58,453.