The court heard how, on Tuesday 4 January 2005, the two employees had climbed up into the motor area above the lift shaft, when the lift had stopped.  They had begun hand-winding the lift, a task that they had done on numerous occasions before.  When without warning the metal panel on which they were resting gave way beneath them.  They both fell into the lift shaft below and were injured.

One employee was able to stop her fall by clinging on to the chains whil the second employee landed on top of the lift car roof, having fallen approximately 30 feet.  This employee remains unable to return to work and has been left permanently disabled due to the injuries to her left leg, which was partially severed, broken and dislocated at the ankle in the accident.

T. J. Morris Ltd. of Axis Business Park, Liverpool, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a breach of section 2(1) of the HASWA for failing to ensure the safety of those in their employment.  The retailer was ordered to pay £10,000 legal costs.

The investigation completed by Halton Borough Council Environmental Health Department established the practice of hand-winding the lift had been taking place unchallenged for a number of years, by numerous employees within the company structure.  This included employees who were area managers.  The company had failed to adequately monitor and instruct employees that the procedure for dealing with a lift breakdown was to inform the lift engineers and not take any remedial action themselves.

In mitigation, the company said that it has a good safety record and since the accident it had reviewed all its safety procedures, appointed a regional health and safety manager, retrained employees at the branch and had replaced the nominated lift contractors. 

The court acknowledged the financial costs of the remedial actions and the fact that the company had entered an early guilty plea.  For this reason they retained sentencing powers and enforced the maximum penalty.  A civil case is pending.