Day 130 - 26 May 95 - Page 13
1 Q. You only investigated the matters that would lead you to
2 conclude that Robert Chapman was the cause of the accident;
3 is that right?
4 A. No, in fact, I do not blame Robert Chapman at all. In
5 fact, I do not blame anybody for the accident. To me it is
6 a whole series of little hinges that came together. Those
7 little things include, yes, the wiring of a plug and, yes,
8 the fact that Robert Chapman, when he had his shock, did
9 not take it seriously at all. Yes, they include the fact
10 that Mark Hopkins replicated that, but they also include
11 things like in society, in general, people look at safety
12 as a bit of a joke.
13
14 Q. So you did not investigate the shoes that the victims --
15 one fatal -- were wearing?
16 A. You know there is no mention of the shoes in the
17 report.
18
19 Q. Did you investigate the store tool box, and how often
20 people did jobs with this?
21 A. Certainly, the store tool box is standard equipment
22 in any restaurant. From what we knew at the time Robert
23 Chapman's version seemed to be he had not used any tools.
24 Whether he went for the tool box or not, I do not know. As
25 I say, I did not have the opportunity to speak to him. As
26 far as I knew, at the time he had not used any tools,
27 therefore, it did not really come into the facts I was
28 gathering.
29
30 Q. Did you investigate whether their tool box was regularly
31 used in that store for small electrical jobs?
32 A. I did not check on the tool box, no.
33
34 Q. Did you check with the management in the store whether
35 electrical jobs were done on a fairly regular basis with
36 their own tools?
37 A. I cannot remember asking the specific question. At any
38 store I would expect them to use the tool box to carry out
39 small maintenance and repair work, not necessarily
40 electrical, and certainly not electrical at all these days.
41
42 Q. But in this case you did not investigate that?
43 A. I did not ask that, no.
44
45 Q. You did not ask management whether the circumstances of
46 Robert Chapman being asked, or not, or changing the plug
47 some two weeks previously because the wires had come out at
48 that stage? You said something about that you did not know
49 about Sarah Waddell, the allegation that she had asked or
50 known about Robert Chapman changing the plug, but did you
51 ask the management in general what happened when
52 Mr. Chapman changed the plug, who saw it?
53 A. I spoke to Judith Chapman about that, the Restaurant
54 Manager, and she knew nothing of it. Then the information
55 that was given to me by Keith Kilbride, ^ who had sat in on
56 the witness statement did not come either. I do not
57 believe it was Mr. Shirkie's report.
58
59 Q. I asked if you investigated.
60 A. Yes, I did ask the Restaurant Manager if she, or the
