DEMOLITION FIRM FINED AFTER WORKER RECEIVES HEAD INJURIES
17 Dec 2002 11:45 AM
Lock Brothers (Plant Hire) Limited were fined £5,000 on 11 December
2002 before the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, London. The
company was also ordered to pay £10,000 compensation to the victim
and costs of £2,450.
The prosecution followed an investigation into an incident in which
the victim, a lorry driver, received serious head injuries at a
building site on 5 February 2002. Mr Robert Pettigrove, of Watford,
Herts, was employed by a company based in Potters Bar, Herts, and was
on site to pick up pallets of reclaimed bricks. Mr Pettigrove fell
approximately 20 feet from the edge of a floor slab, part of a
building being demolished at 27-27A Willowbrook Road, London SE15. Mr
Pettigrove, who was 42 at the time, survived, but has been unable to
work since.
Lock Brothers of Manor Road, Erith, Kent, were contracted to demolish
the two-story building at Willowbrook Road. The scheme of works
involved reclaiming, cleaning and palletising the bricks as the
building was demolished. On the day of the accident, sections of
walls had been taken down leaving a slab at first floor level without
any physical barrier to prevent any person from falling from the open
edge. Mr Pettigrove arrived on site and was directed to a stack of
reclaimed bricks on the first floor slab. Whilst wrapping the pallets
of bricks with plastic wrap, Mr Pettigrove fell off the open edge of
the slab and landed in the basement 20 feet below, suffering serious
head injuries.
Persons should be protected from the risks presented by open edges,
such as the one above, by scaffolding or other suitable barriers to
prevent persons and materials from falling to the ground from height.
These failures formed the basis of the prosecution.
Lock Brothers pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to a breach of
Regulation 6 of The Construction (Health, Safety & Welfare)
Regulations 1996 (CHSW), in that they failed to take suitable and
sufficient steps to prevent any person, including Mr Pettigrove from
falling.
HM Principal Inspector of Health and Safety, Neil Stephens, said
after the case: "This was an easily preventable accident. The risk to
Mr Pettigrove was very clear and this sad incident was entirely
avoidable.
"This case highlights that the construction industry must ensure it
puts more effort into preventing falls from height. The risk of
falling is well known in the industry, as are the measures needed to
prevent falls."
Notes to Editors
1. Regulation 6(1) of CHSW states: "Suitable and sufficient steps
shall be taken to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any
person falling."
2. Section 33(1)(c) of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974,
states: "It is an offence for a person to contravene any health and
safety regulations....
3. Lock Brothers (Plant Hire) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching
Regulation 6(1) of CHSW, an offence under section 33(1)(c), at City
of London Magistrate's Court, 1 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4 on
13 November 2002. The company was fined £5,000 with £2,450 costs at
the Old Bailey on Wednesday 11 December 2002.
4. Lock brothers were also ordered to pay a compensation order to Mr
Pettigrove in the sum of £10,000 by virtue of The Power of Criminal
Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.
5. Your attention is drawn to the fact that the provisions of the
Contempt of Court Act apply to reporting on this matter.
Public Enquiries: Call HSE's InfoLine, tel: 08701 545 500, or write
to: HSE Information Services, Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly
CF83 3GG.
HSE information and press releases can be accessed on the Internet:
http://www.hse.gov.uk
Ends