A property development firm and a self-employed construction contractor have been given a fine of more than £180,000 between them after being found guilty of causing a worker’s death in 2012.
The fines were imposed on Lois Gastoneux Ltd of Harrow and Michael Brett on the 20th November following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Geoffrey Crow, 48, was killed by a five-tonne dumper in February 2012. Mr Crow was at the wheel of the dumper, when he drove it into a large hole being excavated for a swimming pool for the owner of Lois Gastoneux Ltd, causing it to overturn and crush him to death.
Mr Crow wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at the time, which was subsequently found to not be working properly, and the HSE’s investigation found he and several other workers on the site were not adequately qualified to operate the machinery there, and hadn’t worked on such large scale excavations before. Other workers also revealed during the hearing they would not usually wear seatbelts when driving machinery around.
The HSE ruled Lois Gastoneux Ltd and Michael Brett were negligent as they had both failed to ensure adequate safety measures were in place, such as guards around the hole or anything to stop it collapsing onto the workers digging in it despite the building site having been open for three weeks.
Lois Gastoneux Ltd pleaded guilty at Harrow Crown Court of breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and was fined £150,000 with a further £28,033 in costs for its part in the incident.
Michael Brett was fined £2,000 with £1,500 in costs added after also pleading guilty to the charges in court.
The HSE also told the hearing that safety standards at the site were well below those expected and the issues highlighted all contributed to Mr Crow’s death.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stephen Manley, said: “Working with construction plant can be extremely dangerous, which is why appropriate safety measures must be in place at all times to protect workers and others onsite.
“In this instance, Mr Crow died as a direct consequence of the lack of controls of the risks involved in the excavation operations. There was no protection whatsoever to ensure workers, whether driving machinery or otherwise, did not fall into the deep excavation.
“There are clear industry standards setting out how to identify and manage risks, and guidance is widely available. So there is no excuse to let operations continue without having the proper health and safety measures in place.”
According to the HSE’s latest health and safety report, which covers figures from 2012, 133 workers died from injuries at work, with the construction industry reporting 42 fatalities. However, there has been a steady decrease in figures over the last 40-years.
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