Suspended Sentences Handed Out Following Site Tragedy
Back in July 2018, an 18-year-old construction worker was fatally injured while working on a house-build construction site in Lincolnshire.
The 2 business owners involved in the site were fined following the death of the young employee.
How Did The Incident Occur?
The incident involved the clearing of debris from manholes at a house-build construction site. While work was taking place, a colleague was asked if he could move the works van to allow another vehicle to pass. However, he was not aware that the 18 year old was lying on the road. His head and torso in a manhole, directly in front of the van.
As the vehicle moved forwards one of the wheels entered the top of the manhole contacting with the young employee. He was then taken to hospital but later died as a result of serious crush injuries.
The Investigation
An investigation by the HSE found that neither the Principal Contractor, nor the groundworks sub-contractor, had ensured that the work was planned to reduce risk to employees.
The Principle Contractor had sent his employees to carry out the task without a risk assessment or method statement in place.
In addition, these workers had not been trained to work in a road, or been provided with any equipment to ensure the work was carried out safely.
On top of this the investigation found that the young employee had not even had a site induction. As a result of his tragic death both company leads were found guilty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The Fines
Significant fines were handed out. This included a £300,000 fine for the principle contractors business who was also ordered to pay costs of £15,765.92. The groundswork sub contractor business was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,264.87.
Alongside the businesses been fined the individuals were also found guilty and both handed suspended sentences following the tragic loss of life.