death while using a lawn mower.

--tom · 14 May 2005

Sadly, a woman was electrocuted while using a lawn mower. The newspapers reported that the accident was due to lack of a "breaker". I assume that they meant a RCD. Nothing was mentioned as to the kind or location of the outlet the appliance was plugged into.
What is the position on such a situation? Does work on a system in one part of a property that does not upgrade the system in another part of the property leave the last person on the job responsible?

andy · 14 May 2005

AFAIK, you only have to make the circuit your working on upto the current standards. i.e if you work on the lighting circuit you dont have to add a RCD to the ground floor sockets

Screwi · 14 May 2005

you are under a morale obligation to report a possibly dangerous situation.

andy · 14 May 2005

Screwi said:
you are under a morale obligation to report a possibly dangerous situation.

and how many people dont have an RCD or even think about gettin 1?

comms · 14 May 2005

If I notice the lack of rcd protection on any property I'm working on, I point the potential hazard out to the customer & suggest they have an rcd installed to the circuit or at least the normal socket they use for equipment used outside changed to an rcd type socket ( normally ends up being the ones in a conservatory that are changed)

mapj1 · 16 May 2005

You are not legally resposnsible for the death, if you did not upgrade an existing installation, unless you pretended you had brought it all to latest regs, but fruadulently had not. However, as a 'good person' thing, really an RCD or RCBO should be advised if you spot that there is not one.
Any new circuit that might be expedcted ot power a mower or similar should be RCD protected - the easiest way -if a one off is to just do the one socket.

delmel · 16 May 2005

How frightening, did she manage to get most cut before cutting through the live cable and picking up the exposed conductors.

30ma RCD = still here today.

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death while using a lawn mower.

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