Sue Rules, Kennedy family told
The family of Rory Kennedy, the Rules head chef who died after falling down the stairs at the central London restaurant in May, have been advised by solicitors to submit a claim against the restaurant over the safety of the stairs.
The family claim that, before the accident, Kennedy had expressed concern about the stairs to a health and safety officer.
At the inquest, held in October, environmental health officer Robert Reed said he had found no defect on the stairs (Caterer, 2 October, page 9). The jury recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Rules general manager Ricky McMenemy was not prepared to comment on this move by the Kennedy family. He did confirm that alterations had been made to the stairs since the accident but said they had been purely aesthetic, and that the investigating EHO had not made any recommendations about the stairs.
l Between 1994 and 1995 there were 28 accidents in stairs and corridors which caused major injury to employees in the hotel and catering sector. There were a further 119 accidents in stairs and corridors which kept employees off work for more than three days.
