A London health club is being prosecuted alongside a lift company after a woman died after being crushed in a lift shaft.
Katarzyna Woja, 32, originally from Poland, was at the exclusive health club for a lunchtime class, in March 2003 when the tragic accident happened.
A court heard how Miss Woja was in a lift with six others at the Broadgate Health Club in London. The lift stopped on the ground floor and the other people walked out. Miss Woja was the last in the lift and as she approached the doors the lift plunged down half a storey, wedging her between the sides of the shaft and the outer walls of the lift.
No-one else was injured in the accident but Mrs Woja sustained severe injuries and despite the efforts of the staff and emergency services to help her she died at the scene.
The company which owns the health club, Holmes Place Health Clubs and the German lift company, ThyssenKrupp Elevators, are being held responsible for the lift malfunction which caused the accident and are being prosecuted. After a police investigation into Mrs Woja’s death, during which detectives considered charging the two companies with manslaughter, Holmes Place has been charged with six breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act and ThyssenKrupp Elevators has been charged with four.
At an initial hearing at London’s Magistrates court both companies pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case being brought by the Corporation of London will be heard in June. Both companies face a maximum penalty of £75,000, but no individuals are being prosecuted.
Holmes Place Health Clubs was bought by Virgin Active in 2006 and they are held liable for the legal action.
A spokesman for Virgin Active said: “The company has cooperated with the investigation of the cause and circumstances of Mrs Woja’s death and the case being made against it, and will continue to do so. Our position with regards to the case is dependant on a number of technical procedural issues and outstanding expert investigations and we are therefore not in a position to comment any further given the pending legal proceedings. We are doing all we can to bring proceedings to a conclusion for the sake of Katarzyna’s family.”
A spokesman fro ThyssenKrupp Elevators confirmed that it was being investigated in connection with Mrs Woja’s death but refused to comment further.
Mrs Woja had lived in North London with her husband of ten years and she worked for investment bank Invesco, a job which earned her £100,000 a year. At her funeral her husband Nebojsa Dorontic said: “My grief at losing Katarzyna cannot be conveyed into words.”
Following her death the British ambassador to Poland, Sir John Morgan said that Mrs Woja was destined for great things.
The case continues.
