AN INQUEST will be held next week into the death of an engineer who fell down a lift shaft in Warwick.
James Merritt was working on the lift at the town’s Telent Technology Park on Haywood Road when he fell on October 12 last year.
The 39 year-old married father of two was employed as an engineer surveyor with Zurich Engineering, a role which saw him carry out examinations of lifting equipment and machinery at sites across the West Midlands.
In 2014 he was named the winner of the British Engineering Service’s Engineer Surveyor of the Year award due to his ‘conscientious approach to health and safety’. At the time he said he loved his job and winning the award was the highlight of his career.
At the time of his death, a spokesman for Zurich told the Observer described Mr Merritt as “a valued friend and member of his team”.
When Mr Merritt won the surveyor award he was described by the British Engineering Service as a young engineer surveyor who had already accomplished much in his career.
Colleagues spoke of a man who went beyond the ‘expected role of an engineer surveyor’ and who went out of way to help others.
The incident was immediately referred to the Health and Safety Executive, and an inquest is set to be held at Leamington Town Hall on Monday.
