Photo of Jeremy Bowley from yourlifemoments.caPhoto of Jeremy Bowley from yourlifemoments.ca
London

Inquest Announced Into Death of Jeremy Bowley

The death of a London man who was electrocuted while putting up a tent for a wedding will be examined at a coroner's inquest.

It was announced on Monday that a mandatory inquest will be held to the death of Jeremy Bowley. The 21-year-old died on August 1, 2013 while working for Signature Events Rental Shoppe of London, erecting a tent for a wedding near Watford.

According to a release from the Coroner's office, the inquest will "examine the events surrounding Mr. Bowley's death. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths."

The inquest, which begins at 10am on Monday, November 20 at the Best Western Stoneridge Inn in London, is expected to last five days and hear from 18 witnesses.

Dr. Tom Wilson will preside as inquest coroner and Noelle Brady will be counsel to the coroner.

A Ministry of Labour investigation into the incident determined that six workers were setting up the tent when poles came into contact with overhead wires. The electric current travelled down a pole and injured five of the six workers. A secondary shock further injured those lying on the ground.

Two of the workers were able to drag the others away from the pole and perform CPR. Air and land ambulances were sent to the site. Bowley died as a result of electrocution, while other workers suffered burns and shock.

The investigation also revealed that all of the workers were under the age of 25 and were seasonal employees. None of them had received any safety training and there had been no training in relation to identifying site hazards, such as overhead power lines.

The ministry also says no one from the business checked out the area beforehand or asked for information about utilities. In addition to that, the ministry says no one was trained on how to lift materials or move the tents in such a way that no one would be put at risk or injured.

Signature Events Rental Shoppe pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the health and safety of workers was protected and failing to provide adequate information, instruction and supervision to workers about the hazards of overhead electrical wires, as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was issued a fine of $100,000 fine along with a 25% victim surcharge fee.

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