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Man died fixing boiler, inquest told
A man died when he was electrocuted as he fixed a gas central heating system, an inquest heard today.
James Davies died on October 11 last year, just 19 days before his 30th birthday, the inquest at Cardiff Coroner’s Court heard.
Mr Davies, of Crystal Glen, The Heath, Cardiff, was fixing a boiler in a house on Strathnairn Road, Cardiff, when the incident occurred.
The court heard how Mr Davies was found face down in a small bedroom by the house’s tenant, Edrufo Barbosa.
Dr Steven Leadbeatter, a senior lecturer in forensic pathology at the University Hospital Wales Cardiff, told the inquest there were lesions, burn marks and metallic deposits on Mr Davies’ left arm suggesting he had suffered from electrical burns.
Paul Gilson, an inspector at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Llanishen, said: "Mr Davies was fitting a new control box on a boiler. I think his hand got jammed between the incoming cable of the immersion heater switch and the control panel.
"It is supposition, but the only way I can appreciate how he got burn marks on the back of his left hand and blisters on the front would be if his hand got stuck there for a considerable amount of time, minutes if not longer."
Summing up, Mary Hassell, Coroner for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, said Mr Davies was registered with the gas safety watchdog Corgi and was authorised to maintain and install gas central heating.
She said: "He would have known the incoming cable was still live but he was not specially trained in electrics.
"If he had known his reason for not turning the electricity off first was either because he didn’t want to go downstairs to turn it off or because he was allowing Mr Barbosa’s children to continue watching television and playing on the computer."
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Speaking outside court, Mr Davies’ wife Emma said: "He was just doing his job and this was a part of it.
"At the time of the accident I asked why it had happened, an electrocution shouldn’t be something that happens as part of this job."
Sent: 14/02/2008
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