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A High Court judge has decided that the organisers of an arts event involving a giant inflatable and the local authority on whose land it was installed were both to blame for the personal injury suffered by two women who died as a result of the structure flying into the air.
The fatal accident at Chester-le-Street in July 2006 resulted in the deaths of the women, aged 68 and 38, who fell to the ground from it. Twenty five other people who were exploring the coloured interior of the artwork at the time suffered serious injury.
The walk-in structure, which was half the size of a football pitch and consisted of linked chambers, took off from the ground with the people inside when a sudden gust of wind pulled it from its moorings.
In 2008, the artist responsible for its construction, and who ran the non-profit making arts charity with his son, was found guilty of failing to comply with health and safety requirements to ensure those entering the inflatable were not at risk.
Although the artist, who died in 2009, was found not guilty of manslaughter, his charity was taken to court in May 2011 and found to have 55% liability for the tragedy.
The former Chester-le-Street Council, which has since been absorbed into Durham County Council was judged to be 45% at fault in the accident.
It was stated that only a small percentage of the anchoring points on the inflatable structure had been secured when the deadly gust occurred.
Details of the amount of compensation to be paid to the families of the fatally-injured victims and the other survivors have not been revealed but they are believed to be several millions of pounds.
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