WHEN any family is struck by a tragic death it is obviously a very difficult time for those involved who may be struggling with a whole host of issues.

What anyone in that situation deserves is sympathy, understanding and clear answers as to the nature of the death and how it could possibly have happened.

However, the family of Andy Hagen of Bradford, who died in Leeds General Infirmary after an incident on a demolition site, say they are still seeking answers about just what happened.

It should really be the first priority of any company or organisation that has a worker die during a job, no matter what the eventual cause or contributing factors, to keep in close contact with the family and keep them fully informed.

The family say that they do not want to apportion any blame, but just want to know what happened, and that is completely understandable.

Very often in these awful situations the loved ones feel trapped in limbo and cannot properly grieve for their loss because of the question marks hanging over the circumstances of the death.

Obviously, there are official investigations under way but the family should be kept fully informed at all stages, not have to wait for the outcome to be made public.

It is to be hoped that the family are given answers as soon as possible, even if no final decisions have been arrived at about exactly what happened and why. The very least they deserve is to not be kept in the dark.