The owners of an Oxford care home where a pensioner died after falling out of a first floor window yesterday admitted breaching health and safety laws.
Maisie Jones, 82, fell from the window at the Brookfield Christian Care Home, in Little Bury, Greater Leys, in June 2003 after climbing up on to the window sill.
Oxford Crown Court heard Mrs Jones, a former beautician who was suffering from dementia, died two months later from pneumonia caught as a result of the immobility she suffered after fracturing her pelvis during the fall.
Angela Morris, prosecuting, said a handyman at the home had been ordered to carry out repairs to the safety catch on the window but his work was never checked. She said: “Effectively he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. It was not a method of repair which was adequate.”
Representatives from Southern Cross Healthcare admitted two breaches of health and safety regulations. Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, defending, said: “There were failings and mistakes, and the company is very sorry.”
The court heard the firm had already agreed to pay £120,000 costs to the Health and Safety Executive, which investigated the case.
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