Death of Cardonald school boy crushed by gravestone 'avoidable', FAI rules

The death of a school boy, who was crushed by a gravestone in Cardonald, was avoidable a fatal accident inquiry has found.

Ciaran Williamson suffered two skull fractures and injuries to his heart and liver following the incident at Craigton Cemetery in Cardonald in May 2015.

Today a sheriff found Glasgow City Council guilty of a number of serious health and safety failings.

The ruling states the local authority did not have a memorial inspection system in place and failed to repair a hole in a boundary wall where Ciaran accessed the site with friends.

His mum Stephanie is now calling for fatal accident inquiry laws to be changed.

She has accused officials of increasing her pain by needlessly dragging out the process and fears they will ignore any guidance passed down by the court.

Stephanie said: “Every day we are crippled with the agony of losing Ciaran but this conclusion has not brought peace, answers or even a sense of justice.

“Our suffering has been made worse as we’ve been dragged through a process that could have been shortened had Glasgow City Council not refused to concede to obvious failings.

“Instead it threw thousands of public money at a QC and advocate who specialise in criminal cases - this defensive approach shows it set out from day one to divert blame and muddy the waters.

“This FAI found major gaps in Council processes which tell us it has been either defiant or negligent.

“And while we understand FAI’s don’t blame or punish and only give “recommendations”, there’s no rule to say the Council are legally bound to act on them - and who checks to see if they do?

“The Crown refused to prosecute the Council before the facts were fully investigated yet today, when the Court DOES find faults, the Council still escapes prosecution.

“How’s that fair or in the public interest? It’s like the reputation of a public body takes priority and it makes FAIs toothless to the point of meaningless.

“The laws around FAIs should be changed so those responsible are properly held accountable and families can access the justice they need and deserve.”

Ciaran’s stepdad Thomas McGee, 27, added: “This has been a tragic time for us all and we hope people can learn from this.

“We’d like to thank our legal team for helping us uncover Glasgow City Council’s failings.”

The four-week hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court aimed to establish if the local authority could have taken precautions which might have prevented Ciaran’s death, or if there were failings in its system of work which caused or contributed to it.

Investigations from Digby Brown Solicitors, who represented Stephanie and most of Ciaran’s family, showed the memorial that killed Ciaran was leaning so precariously that one expert suggested a “gust of wind” could have toppled it.

The hearing heard Ciaran and his friends accessed the area through a large hole in the cemetery wall - something the Council should have rectified given that a primary school formed part of the cemetery perimeter and given that the memorial was near to a well-used thoroughfare.

Further evidence showed the Council did not inspect the area where Ciaran died even though it knew of a previous child who was seriously injured there in very similar circumstances.

The court also heard the Council commissioned a mason’s report which condemned the condition of the stone which killed Ciaran - only then for it not to form part of an HSE and Crown probe that followed.

Other evidence showed a lack of cemetery inspections and a request by the Head of Bereavement Services for resources to deal with a known problem of falling memorials.

Sheriff Ruxton called on the Scottish Government to now share memorial inspection guidelines with all local authorities.

She concluded in her determination: “The absence of an active system of inspection to ensure the safety and stability of memorials in Glasgow cemeteries and, in particular, in Craigton Cemetery was a defect in Glasgow City Council’s system of working which contributed to Ciaran’s death and the accident resulting in his death.”

While Sheriff Ruxton found the Ministry of Justice Guidance for England and Wales was followed by nearly all local authorities other than Glasgow, she added: “I recommend that the Scottish Government issue separate guidance on memorial safety in cemeteries for use by local authorities throughout Scotland.”

Mark Gibson, Partner at Digby Brown Solicitors, said: “This was a long and complex inquiry with a number of skilled witnesses giving technical evidence and we welcome the determination.

“However, the emotional upheaval the family have endured cannot be underestimated - they have shown great strength of character and solidarity throughout.

“The determination highlights that the Council failed to adhere to longstanding industry standards for the inspection and maintenance of large memorials.

“It was clear from the evidence that this substantial memorial ought to have been a priority given that it was leaning precariously and given its position close to the site of a previous similar accident, a public thoroughfare, a local primary and the homes of many local children.

"Importantly, Sheriff Ruxton found the children were simply playing and there was no suggestion of a deliberate attempt by any of the boys to push over or destabilise the memorial in question.

“Ciaran’s family thank the media and public for their support during the FAI and indeed since his passing however they now wish to be left alone to fully consider this lengthy determination.”

Cllr Anna Richardson said: “I accept the Sheriff’s findings. We are sorry and our thoughts remain with Ciaran’s family and friends.

“It is clear that the Sheriff expects national guidelines and advice to be put in place for all cemeteries and, in particular, for dealing with larger and often older memorials. The council will adopt those guidelines once they are available.

“The council had already taken steps that address the Sheriff’s other recommendations prior to the inquiry and used the expert evidence heard in court to further strengthen its procedures.

“We welcome the Sheriff’s very clear statement that no cemetery is a safe place for play.

Ciaran’s dad Ryan Williamson made this comment, “The very strong recommendations made by the sheriff are the best outcome we could have hoped for and I would like to thank her for the work she has done.

"It should have never taken the death of my son for this issue to be addressed by the authorities. Had Glasgow City Council properly maintained the cemetery Ciaran would still be alive today.

"The recommendations made in the FAI must be acted on immediately by the city council and by the Scottish Government. An accident like this, which was completely preventable, must never happen again. No family should ever have to suffer the loss we have.”

Ciaran’s Grandmother Margaret Aitken added: “Ciaran was a wonderful child with his whole life ahead of him and he is missed every single day.

"The thing that upsets me so much is knowing that had basic maintenance been made in the graveyard he would still be alive. The report has made clear what needs to done to stop this ever happening again but I just feel devastated that it took the death of my beautiful grandson to take us to where we are today.”

Ryan and Margaret’s lawyer, Eilish Lindsay from Thompsons Solicitors who represented them at the Fatal Accident Inquiry, said: “Ciaran’s Dad and Gran have shown remarkable courage throughout this whole FAI process and they greatly welcome its findings.

"The awful accident which took the life of 8 year old Ciaran could so easily have been avoided had Glasgow City Council taken steps to maintain Craigton Cemetery. Ciaran’s family, and myself, will be keeping a close watch to ensure both local authorities and The Scottish Government move quickly to implement the very clear recommendations made by Sheriff Ruxton.

"If any good can come from this terrible tragedy, it will be that no other child or member of the public is injured or worse due to poor maintenance in Scotland’s cemeteries."