Not such happy news regarding an employee on Sandringham Estate
Sandringham Estate could face Health and Safety prosecution after gardener critically injured - Telegraph
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The man fell into a lake and was pinned down by the lawnmower after it toppled onto him. He suffered “life-threatening injuries” after being underwater for “a number of minutes”, police said.
He was pulled from the water and given first aid by two of the Queen’s personal protection officers but is now fighting for his life in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, after being taken there by air ambulance after the accident on Monday.
An inspector from the HSE (
Health and Safety Executive - they always investigate accidents in the workplace [cepe]) visited the scene on Monday afternoon together with police officers. If Norfolk Constabulary is satisfied there was no foul play, the HSE or the local council's health and safety officer will take over the investigation, and could launch a prosecution if there is any evidence of negligence.
If the HSE launches a prosecution, it will be against the Sandringham Estate as a corporate body, of which the Queen, as owner of the private estate, is the head.
Convention dictates that the monarch is immune from criminal or civil prosecutions, but if a prosecution were to be brought against the Sandringham Estate, it would be the Queen, in effect, who would be liable for any fines levied, as she is the owner of the Estate.
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Managers at the 20,000 acre estate have already given statements to the police.
The incident happened at 1.30pm on Monday, less than an hour after the Queen had been at a private meeting with 63 members of the Welsh Corgi League and 48 of their dogs in the walled garden at Sandringham House.
The incident happened at Lower Lake, the largest of four lakes on the estate, next to the Estate Office, also known as York Cottage, where the Queen’s father King George VI was born. It is around 250 yards from the Queen’s residence.
In some places the lawn slopes sharply down to the water, and one possibility is that the gardener was cutting the grass on a slope when he lost control and ended up in the lake.
A Norfolk Constabulary spokeswoman said: "The man had apparently become trapped underwater by the grass cutter which he was riding. Two police officers and a colleague from the estate retrieved the man from the water and began CPR before paramedics arrived.
A Health and Safety Executive spokeswoman said: "At this stage the police are leading the investigation.
"In an incident like this, the police will take the lead and we will assist. The police will want to rule out any suspicions of foul play or anything like that before it becomes a work-related investigation led by the HSE.
"The police usually quite quickly hand these matters over to us once they have taken an initial look at things."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen is aware of the incident and is being kept informed. We can make no further comment."
The Queen is now back in London and will return to Sandringham at the end of the month for the annual Sandringham Flower Show.