Council must pay £150,000 after heavily pregnant woman, 39, lost her baby when tree branch smashed her windscreen and hit her in the stomach
- Wirral Borough Council fined £100,00 and ordered to pay costs of £49,363
- Elizabeth Stear, 39, was on the school run, in 2016, when the branch hit her
- Health and Safety Executive said the tree had not been inspected for 13 years
- A similar incident had occurred on the same road only one year before in 2015
A council has been handed a £150,000 fine after a heavily pregnant woman lost her baby when a tree branch fell and smashed her car’s windscreen.
Elizabeth Stear, 39, was 36 weeks pregnant when a large branch fell onto her car and hit her in the stomach while she was on the school run with her 13-year-old daughter and six-year-old son on November 10, 2016.
Lucia Jayne Stear was delivered by emergency caesarean after her mother was rushed to hospital, but the baby died only 15 hours later.
Elizabeth Stear, 39, was 36 weeks pregnant when a large branch fell onto her car (pictured) and hit her in the stomach while she was on the school run in Wirral, Merseyside
The baby had suffered multi organ failure and died at 01.11am on 11th November 2016.
Mrs Stear said: ‘Usually when you think of your children, you remember things like holidays, achievements, sports days, family days out, their favourite foods.
‘We don’t have those memories for Lucia.
‘We would like to thank our family and friends, Aintree Hospital, Liverpool Women’s Hospital neonatal team, the midwives, Honeysuckle team, the police and Claire House, who are still supporting me today.’
A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said that Wirral Borough Council pleaded guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court today.
An HSE investigation found that the horse chestnut branch which had hit Mrs Stear in the stomach had been coming away from the main trunk (pictured) for at least one growing season
An HSE investigation found that the horse chestnut branch which had hit Mrs Stear in the stomach had been coming away from the main trunk for at least one growing season.
Wirral Borough Council had not inspected the tree on Arrowe Park Road for at least 13 years and had failed to implement an inspection system despite a similar incident on the same road in January 2015.
The council was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £49,363 in costs.
HSE inspector Rohan Lye said: ‘There are no winners in this sad case. Councils have a duty to proactively assess and control risks to members of the public.
‘This tragedy could so easily have been avoided if the risk had been identified, warnings had been heeded and an adequate tree management system had been implemented.
An HSE investigation found Wirral Borough Council had not inspected the tree on Arrowe Park Road (pictured) for at least 13 years and had failed to implement an inspection system despite a similar incident on the same road in January 2015
‘Tragically, due to these systemic failures, Elizabeth and Alex, together with their two children, have been left without Lucia and have had to restructure their lives from the devastating impact they have each individually experienced.’
Speaking in September last year, Wirral Borough Council said that it had now made changes and improvements.
Cllr Julie McManus, Cabinet member for Community Services, said: ‘On behalf of Wirral Council, I would like to express my sincerest sympathies to Mr and Mrs Stear and all their family as a result of the tragic death of Lucia in November 2016.
‘Echoing the comments from the coroner at the end of the inquest hearing, I know there are no words that could make things any better for the family.
‘The issues that have been found as a result of the investigation that followed Lucia’s death have led to substantial investment by Wirral Council and detailed actions being identified as a result.’
Lucia Jayne Stear was delivered by emergency caesarean after her mother was rushed to Aintree Hospital (pictured), but the baby died only 15 hours later