On 9th January 2015, Chessington World of Adventures pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety Act 1974 with caused the incident three years ago.
The girl, who was four at the time, fell through a missing paling at the end of a queuing area while waiting to get on a ride with her family and suffered a fractured skull and ribs and bleeding on the brain.
At the sentencing, Judge Lucas QC said: "In my judgment there were serious and persistent breaches [of the Health and Safety Act]. Death is an aggravating factor, here, [the girl] mercifully avoided death. This was a fortunate outcome which could so easily have been avoided. I do not find there was a deliberate breach of health and safety legislation for profit"
He aded: "Whilst the repairs were shoddy, that appears to be have been the consequence of poor management rather than any deliberate cost-cutting measure."
Talking about the incident, the young girl's mother said she suffers weakness in her arms and legs due to the incident, saying: "this was a truly awful time [because] we were not sure if she was going to survive. Before the accident she was relatively independent, after the accident it was like having a toddler again. I am so proud of how well she has recovered but this has been a very difficult time."
In response to the incident and court ruling, Chessington released the following statement: "Chessington World of Adventures regards the Health & Safety of its guests and employees as its number one priority. The Resort has an excellent safety record and every year we invest significant resources in maintenance and safety measures. What happened to the young child was an isolated incident which we deeply regret, and from the outset we have put in place a package of support for the child and the family. We have also co-operated fully with the HSE investigation. This showed both a rigorous inspection and maintenance regime, and evidence not only of very swift action by staff, but also that the paling was dislodged by the application of exceptional force upon it shortly before the accident. Nevertheless, we have worked with the HSE to put some additional measures in place, including the installation of new metal safety fencing along the queue line."
We wish the young girl all the best with her recovery.
