Day 128 - 24 May 95 - Page 48
1 Q. If that happened, that there were consistent shocks off one
2 particular piece of equipment and it was not immediately
3 repaired, is that something that the Company would
4 investigate?
5 A. I mean, if the Company knew about it, it would be
6 repaired because that is part of the reporting system, is
7 that electric shocks of any sort are notified straightaway,
8 but the Equipment Department is advised and that a
9 competent electrician gets in there and has a look at the
10 equipment straightaway. It is not used until then.
11
12 Q. Is that what you presume?
13 A. That is -- I have lots of examples where that has
14 happened.
15
16 Q. So you are not aware of any instances where equipment has
17 been reused after giving electric shocks?
18 A. Not aware of any. It does not mean it has not happened
19 because, as with any procedure or any system, it can fail.
20 We discussed that before where people are involved and,
21 unfortunately, sometimes mistakes are made and the system
22 is not always followed.
23
24 Q. Are you aware of an incident in the first half of 1991
25 where an employee named Sarah Stibbards was injured?
26 A. No.
27
28 Q. And she sued the Company?
29 A. No.
30
31 Q. You are not aware of that?
32 A. No.
33
34 Q. Is that not something that would be investigated by your
35 Department?
36 A. Again, if you are talking early 1991, it would still be
37 the Security Department that would investigate that. If
38 there are insurance claims these days, the Insurance
39 Manager contacts my people to get a copy of the accident
40 investigation report. But, as I explained before, it is
41 usually the Operations people that investigate it and my
42 people follow up on it.
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I must, I think, intervene at that stage.
45 I wanted to be sure of my ground before I did. The
46 questions Ms. Steel has just asked about Sarah Stibbards
47 are not proper questions. The allegation is in the
48 pleading. We were asked to make discovery. We cannot find
49 any trace of that person. She is not even listed as one of
50 the Defendants' potential witnesses.
51
52 Ms. Steel is quite entitled to ask Mrs. Barnes whether she
53 has hard of the case. The Court of Appeal have said that.
54 What she is not entitled to put to Mrs. Barnes is that
55 Mrs. Barnes' Department would have investigated that
56 incident. There is no evidence that the incident ever took
57 place or, indeed, that the young lady even exists.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have forgotten what the state of play was
60 there. I was going to ask if there was any evidence, or
