Toddler Electrocuted

[Revved Up Sparky]

Wow what a sad story.

BBC News - Toddler Liam Boyle's plug death 'was avoidable'

All because, it seems, a 'handyman' left a plug with a severed flex lying about.

 

[NozSpark]

Yeh,

I saw that one a week or so ago... tragedy

 

[Revved Up Sparky]

Cheers Noz, I only saw it today, it just goes to show, one lapse of concentration could have dire consequences.

 

[Doc Hudson]

Not so handy man by the sounds of it! "a retired handyman who has no formal qualifications in electrical work, told the inquiry he left the plug lying on the floor beside the old oven but did not put it on a couch." Tragic and desperately sad story. From reading the article it sounds that even an RCD may have been minimal help, as the child grabbed the Live & Neutral wires in each hand.

Doc H.

 

[ktguk]

some parents are no help though they let their kids wonder over to where your working, have to tell the parents

 

[Doc Hudson]

Children are always inquisitive with new faces in their homes and work going on. It can be very difficult to stop them coming into contact with some aspects of electrical work, especially if working between rooms or floors.

Doc H.

 

[sprocketflup]

Oh noo, thats so sad

 

[Andy™]

whilst the handyman should not have left a plug with bare ends on flex lying around, the parent should also be looking after her kid.

 

[ProDave]

If I chop a moulded plug off, I ALWAYS remove the fuse from it then put it in a bin.

If that had been done, the boy in this case would still be alive.

But I do agree, it was multiple failures of care that led to this tragedy.

 

[batty]

Unlike Andy I think this unhandy man is totally to blame he really should not be doing this work if he cannot clear up after himself and obviosly does not realise how dangerous electric is leaving a plug around so a toddler could come in contact with it. Maybe the mother should keep an eye on the child but the child should not have been given the oportunity to get hold of a plug with ends that are exposed in the first place.

 

[sparkytim]

Very sad situation. You just can not be to careful when kids are around. Just shows what Risk assesment is really all about, always ask yourself what COULD happen here? I have had a few near misses over the years with toddlers around, found one on the top of my 8 tread steps once having just popped out to the van!, they love to poke about in Tool bags as well.

I now ask if young children can be taken out or be elsewhere if possible when on rewire or other fairly disruptive work, explaining to Parent that I can not be responsible for childs safety.

 

[Theorysparky]

I hate stair gates

constantly opening/closing them not knowing where the little ones are

8/9 year olds with their own tools !!!!!! wanting to help

does my head in

 

[ianmacd]

I find it hard to believe the wire in the plug had anything more done to it than cuting (no stripping etc) so its more likely the todler touched the cut end and there is no way to know that wires were touched and most likely they all were so an RCD may well have helped here.

I do not believe the handyman is criminally negligent for this as he admits leaving the plug with the old oven. If he was not paid to dispose of the old items then its up to the owner to dispose (safely) of the waste. I do agree though, (and do it myself) if he had removes the fuse from the molded plug this could have been avoided. Also if he had placed the plug inside the old oven then it would have been out of sight but I have to ask why the kid was in the kitchen unsupervised. So many other things he could have hurt or killed himself with there.

It is a sad tail.

 

[revjames]

It doesnt say what happened to the 'handyman' prosecuted? fined? hopefully jailed for at least manslaughter

 

[ianmacd]

It doesnt say what happened to the 'handyman' prosecuted? fined? hopefully jailed for at least manslaughter

Why? Its not even neglegent. The kid should have been supervised and not by the handyman.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

I find it hard to believe the wire in the plug had anything more done to it than cuting (no stripping etc) so its more likely the todler touched the cut end and there is no way to know that wires were touched and most likely they all were so an RCD may well have helped here.

You can believe what you will but the evidence suggests differently!

Sheriff Miller said he accepted the evidence of expert witness James Madden, a principal specialist inspector in electrical engineering with the Health and Safety Executive.Mr Madden had concluded that little Liam had "grasped the bare wires of the live conductor in one hand and the bare wires of the neutral conductor in the other".

Sheriff Miller added:" At that time the cable was energised. As a consequence alternating current at the strength of the national supply flowed through his hands, arms and across his chest.

"The effect of that current passing through his body caused a massive shock to his heart. His death followed almost instantaneously.

"It is a merciful grace to Liam that in all probability he died before he realised what was happening to him and before he had the opportunity to feel pain."

It was a case of extending the flex, not just taking the plug off, thus disconnecting the terminations in the back of the oven to fix a longer flex, hence bare wires on the end of flex!

the cable on the new oven was too short so he disconnected the plug in the living room, and left it lying beside the old oven.

If anyone has ever been or is a parent they will know full well anybody cannot physically observe their child 27/4 365days a year!..

irrespective of if there are children involved or not..

Would any of you leave a fused plug connected to an open ended flex on a site where you have been working?

Adults & Pets etc.. can also get shocks!

It would take less than a minute to whip the fuse out, cut the flex fully off and if its a molded type, I normally bend a pin over so it physically CANNOT be inserted into a socket.

IMHO We have to assume a homeowner is unskilled, untrained and as such after employing a trades person that the environment is back to being as safe as it was before the trades person arrive to commence work...

NO additional new hazards or dangers left at the property when the trades person leaves!

Sad Very Sad..

Easily avoidable!

:|

 

[a1]

You have put what I was going to put, Specs. (and a little more, actually) :Applaud

You can always tell who has children and who hasn't on here!!!

Sad, very sad. The poor little lad.

 

[ianmacd]

You can always tell who has children and who hasn't on here!!!

Care to expand that?

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 14:15 ---------- Previous post was made at 14:13 ----------

You can believe what you will but the evidence suggests differently!It was a case of extending the flex, not just taking the plug off, thus disconnecting the terminations in the back of the oven to fix a longer flex, hence bare wires on the end of flex!

Actually, your quote says nothing of the sort. It says the plug was removed. Also she did not emply a trade person but a Handyman. You of all people should appreciate the difference.

 

[a1]

You can always tell who has children and who hasn't on here!!!

Care to expand that?

Do I need to? I thought that was pretty good.

You have those who have/like children and know what it is like to bring up a child or more.

Then you have those who don't have children or dislike children (for whatever reason) and you have those who thinks that a parent can and does watch a child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. That, my friend is impossible!

As much as we watch ours, there is always that split second or two, where any child is out of your site. That is all it takes, for a tragedy like this to happen. I would dread to think what is going throught he minds of the little boy's parents at present.

And comments like "she should have been watching him, and what was he doing in there" are uncalled for. Full stop!

People don't know what actually went on, and we can only go on what is reported. The fact is the Handyman left the plug there. There are simple things (as described in posts above) that he could have done to help prevent this tragedy, or he could have put the plug in the bin (or asked his helper/the childs mother to do so).

 

[ianmacd]

So Are you suggesting because I said she should have been watching her child, I do not have a daughter?

Also, the kid had a play room. Why was he not secured in there (like a dog would have been) while the Handyman was working and until the sharp large non play item was removed from the lounge? Plug or no plug, the lounge was not a suitable area for a child to play unobserved at that time.

You are very quick to blame the Handyman despite, by your own admission, not knowing the full story. Would your blambe be targeted elswhere if it had been a friend, not a handyman, that poped round to fit the oven?