“Very poor” Repairs To Farm Equipment Key Factor In Fatal Injuries To Laois Man

Ronan Culleton died after an accident on a farm four years ago.

“Very poor” repair work to a piece of farm equipment was identified as a key factor in how a Laois man sustained fatal injuries in an accident on a farm four years ago, an inquest has heard.

Ronan Culleton (43), a married father of three and engineer from Mountmellick, Co Laois, suffered a severe head trauma in the incident on December 6, 2022 while he was visiting lands owned by his father, Pat, at Cloonagh, Mountmellick, Co Laois.

He passed away three weeks later on December 28, 2022 in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he had been transported by air ambulance following the accident which was classified as a workplace fatality.

An inquest into Mr Culleton’s death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard the deceased’s father, a part-time farmer, was in the process of disconnecting a slurry agitator from the rear of a tractor when the fatal incident occurred.

His son, Ronan, who was standing to one side of the equipment, was struck on the head and knocked to the ground when the agitator, which weighed around 800kg, suddenly toppled over.

In evidence, Mr Culleton said he wanted to remove the agitator, which had been connected to the tractor for a number of months, as he needed to attach a trailer for some construction work.

Both men were directors of the family business firm, Garoon Construction.

Mr Culleton was about to move the tractor after detaching the agitator when he noticed it swaying before seeing his son on the ground unconscious with blood coming from his mouth.

He admitted carrying out repair work on the agitator previously but had kept no record of any maintenance on the equipment.

Mr Culleton said his son was not a farmer and had no interest in farming.

The witness said he used the tractor and agitator about three or four times a year and there had never been any issues with them in the past.

The inquest heard Mr Culleton, who stated he was always very conscious of safety when working on the farm, believed his son was standing in a safe place while he was moving the tractor.

“I could not believe he was after getting hurt,” he told coroner Myra Cullinane.

Mr Culleton said he thought he had detached the PSO shaft connecting the tractor and agitator but it had not fully disengaged.

He confirmed that no risk assessment had been carried out as he only intended disconnecting the agitator.

Damien Power, a consultant engineer who assisted the Health and Safety Authority with its investigation into Mr Culleton’s death, said an examination of the agitator had revealed repairs had been carried out to one of the three legs used to support the equipment.

Mr Power said the original housing for the leg had suffered mechanical damage at some point with some ungalvanized material welded into place as part of the repairs.

He described the quality of workmanship on the repair work as “very poor.”

The engineer said it had left the leg 93mm shorter than the other legs of the agitator so that it was not evenly balanced when resting on the ground.

As a consequence Mr Power said the leg was not capable of bearing the load imposed on it.

In reply to questions from the coroner, he said it was not possible to say if the fact that the PTO shaft had not fully disengaged was a contributory factor to the incident.

An inspector with the HSA, Karen Donnelly, said a file on its investigation had been submitted to the DPP who had directed that no criminal prosecution should arise from the case in relation to any breaches of health and safety legislation.

A jury of four women and three men returned a verdict of accidental death in the workplace but made no recommendations.

Offering her condolences to the deceased’s relatives, Dr Cullinane remarked: “It is an extreme tragedy to lose a young man so suddenly and so unexpectedly in such circumstances.”