Day 070 - 20 Dec 94 - Page 28


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That might or might not be my conclusion at
     3        the end of the day.  But it seems to me that on the basis
     4        that this manual applies to the US as well as the UK, it is
     5        fair to assume, until I am told otherwise, that the
     6        Operations and Training Manual is abided by and, therefore,
     7        accurate statistics are kept.  That is confirmed by the
     8        ability to produce a table such as that on the bottom half
     9        of page 156; and a further assumption would be that it
    10        applies both in the States and in the United Kingdom.
    11
    12   MR. RAMPTON:  Well, United Kingdom -- yes, we have done that.
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not sure you have, you see.  Certainly,
    15        it has been started on, but clearly, in order to produce,
    16        I would have thought, the bottom half of page 156, they are
    17        able to see whether someone who has fallen due to a
    18        slippery, wet floor or walkway has cracked his elbow or
    19        fractured his spine.  When one is looking at the steps
    20        which have been taken, it might be relevant to know how
    21        many, if any, are very severe indeed.  What is the
    22        immediate -----
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  With respect, I question that last proposition,
    25        but I will not argue it now.  You may get a very severe
    26        accident which happens once in a blue moon, like the
    27        unfortunate electrocution of Mark Hopkins in Manchester --
    28        whether that was McDonald's fault of course is entirely
    29        another question -- that may happen.
    30
    31        I am not trying to be difficult about this at all.  All
    32        I am trying to do is save a disproportion amount of time of
    33        and money on producing documents or figures which may, in
    34        the end, not actually help your Lordship decide what we see
    35        to be the issue in the case, which is whether or not
    36        McDonald's are responsible employers who care about the
    37        welfare of their workforce.  It is true that these figures
    38        could have a bearing on the question, but one questions how
    39        far that is likely to be seen.
    40
    41        What we will do is, we will cause an enquiry to be made --
    42        this document is 1990/1991 -- to see what these figures are
    43        actually based on.
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Subject to anything further which Mr. Morris
    46        wishes to say, what I would like to see is some account of
    47        what the system is and how it complies with the reference
    48        to "keeping accurate statistics" on page 156, because in a
    49        case where information has often not been summary enough --
    50        and one applauds any information which comes in a summary 
    51        form -- this tab 7 is summary in the extreme. 
    52 
    53        You might well be able to argue, I do not know, that if
    54        they have got as many restaurants as they have in this
    55        country, 400 reportable accidents a year, even if they were
    56        moderately severe, would not be a bad safety record; I do
    57        not know, I have not heard evidence on that.
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  Your Lordship will hear evidence from experts
    60        about that.  There is no doubt about that.

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