Northallerton man’s lawnmower death an accident, jury finds

The death of a groundworker who was killed when a ride-on lawnmower fell on top of him was an accident, an inquest jury has concluded.

Kamil Grygieniec, 23, was found dead, face down in a pond, after he had been cutting grass on an inclined bank on Watermill Lane in North Stainley, near Ripon, on Friday 8 October 2021.

The jury ruled he had died as a result of head injuries caused when the mower accidentally rolled on top of him.

Speaking after the hearing in Thirsk concluded, Mr Grygieniec’s mother, Ewa, said her son had been “taken away from us far too soon”.

Mrs Grygieniec said the three-day inquest had been “incredibly difficult, but it was something we were determined to do to at least honour Kamil’s memory and get the answers he deserved”.

A post-mortem examination found the groundworker suffered “sharp blunt force injuries” to the left side of his head, caused by the impact of the mower’s blades.

The inquest heard the mower was not fitted with a rollover protection system, nor had Mr Grygieniec, who was due to start a new job the following week, been wearing a seatbelt.

Maria Harvey, from legal firm Irwin Mitchell, said Mr Grygieniec’s parents, Ewa and Krzysztof, had a “number of concerns” about how he died.

“Kamil’s loved ones remain devastated by his death in particular the distressing circumstances surrounding it,” she said.

“Understandably they’ve had a number of concerns about how Kamil died.

“Trying to grieve for their son over the last four years has been made all the harder by the many unanswered questions they’ve had.

“While the inquest has been a major milestone in being able to secure Ewa and Krzysztof with some of the answers they deserve, nothing can make up for Kamil’s death and what they’ve been through.”

“Kamil was an amazing son,” said Mrs Grygieniec in a statement on behalf of the family.

“The world is a much darker place without Kamil in our lives. I’m not sure our family will ever get over losing Kamil in the way we did.”