Alton Towers fine £5million over Smiler crash

Today the Alton Towers related to the Smiler crash from 02 June 2015 was announced.

The Alton Towers fine was £5,000,000 (£5 Million), along with nearly £70,000 of court costs.

Investigators found the root cause to be a lack of detailed, robust arrangements for making safety-critical decisions.

The judge, Michael Chambers QC, said Merlin Attractions Operations’ safety procedures were “woefully inadequate”, and in his sentencing, he rejected Merlin’s assertion that the crash was down to “human error”. It was, he said, the company’s “catastrophic failure to assess risk and have a structured system of work”.

Investigators from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, found that a chain of errors led staff to override a safety warning when an empty test carriage got stuck on the track in strong winds.

The judge made reference to the Sentencing Guidelines

The Judge  agreed with the HSE’s claim of ‘high’ culpability by a lack of systems. In reviewing the sentencing guidelines, Judge Chambers said that the offender fell far short of required standards.

“I am satisfied there was a high risk of harm, so this is category one.

“Having found high culpability and harm for a company of high turnover, the starting point is £2m up to £6m, but I will stick within this range.”

Judge Chamber took note of the previous convictions at Warwick Castle, which he said should have left a “ringing in the ears”, but added that the defendant does have a good health and safety record overall.

For more information, visit the HSE news article