A RAIL workers’ union has said Network Rail should be held accountable for its employee’s death and is urging a prosecution to be brought.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is urging the Office of Rail Regulation to prosecute Network Rail after an inquest found the death of Malcolm Slater, 64, from Harold Wood, was as the result of an accident.

He died in Queen’s Hospital from serious injuries to his head and spine on July 1 2008 three weeks after an elevated platform he was working from collapsed and fell on top of him.

The union had sought a ruling of unlawful killing, arguing the company’s serious breaches of health and safety were a direct cause of Mr Slater’s death.

RMT secretary Bob Crow said: “This is an accident that should never have happened, not least because concerns about the adequacy of the weld attaching the basket to its arm had already been raised with Network Rail.

“The RMT wants to see Network Rail held accountable for its negligence so that our members are not put in harm’s way like this again.”

Henrietta Phillips from Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Slater’s widow, added: “Mr Slater was required by his employers to use defective equipment, which is a breach of the law.”

Network Rail previously admitted liability for the accident in civil claims arising from the accident brought by the RMT and Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Slater’s widow.