A man has been blamed for his own death after he was tragically crushed by a urinal while working in London.
Kevin Holding died of his injuries in January 2023 after clambering underneath the inspection chamber of a telescopic toilet on Shaftesbury Avenue, when the urinal 'suddenly and without warning dropped and fell onto him'.
The retractable toilet unit is a common sight in Amsterdam, having been designed by Dutch company Urilift, and it's now reached the big smoke, with more and more popping up across the city.
They are designed to drop below ground during the day, before emerging at night, providing an option for anyone who might have been out for a few drinks in the evening, or simply can't hold it till they get home.
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But the helpful contractions turned into a horror story when Mr Holding suffered 'catastrophic' injuries as he was carrying out repairs on the urinal, on behalf of Hi-Tech Washrooms Solutions Ltd.
Mr Holding's grieving widow Katrina Woods is now suing her husband's former employers for £200k after the accident, while they claim that his death was unfortunately, at part, his fault.
Barrister Simon Brindle said: “The urinal dropped as a result of a catastrophic failure of a fitting in its hydraulic system. The fitting failed due to excessive corrosion”.
He claims that the company allowed the fitting to become excessively corroded and also failed to replace it before the tragedy, but the company is denying all liability.
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Ms Woods has alleged negligence and breach of duty but Hi-Tech are also claiming that the maintenance of the urinal should have been completed by another company.
Defence barrister Anna Symington did admit that corrosion had most likely caused the accident but suggests that her clients were not to blame.
She said: “The defendant was not responsible for the maintenance of the hydraulic system; further the defendant was not a specialist hydraulic contractor. Hi-teach Washrooms had no responsibility for the fitting and could not reasonably have been aware of its corroded nature.”
The defence team also stressed that Mr Holding was an experienced contractor and that he should have taken more care to ensure his own safety, effectively blaming him for the accident which sadly claimed his life.
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They suggested that he had 'contributed' to the accident through his own negligence, having allegedly failed 'to take sufficient care for his own safety'.
Ms Symington said Mr Holden was at fault in 'failing to lower the urinal before commencing work inside the inspection chamber', trying to replace the urinal’s water pump while the urinal was raised, and in failing to seek help if he felt it was necessary.
The case hasn't yet reached court or be tested in front of a judge.
James Moorhouse