NEWSFLASH IN THE COURTS


CONSTRUCTION FIRMS FINED £200K OVER DEBENHAMS DEATH


A national construction firm and a glazing contractor have been fined £200,000 each after a worker fell to his death from a Debenhams store front in Exeter.


Philip Evans was working for London Fenestration Trades Ltd, which was contracted by principal contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, to undertake remedial repair works to a glass façade above an entrance to the department store in Princess Hay, Exeter on 9th November 2011.


While a colleague worked on a higher part of the curtain wall from a mobile working platform, Mr Evans worked from the glass canopy to attach the


lower fixings. During the course of this work, he walked along the canopy and fell through an opening above the Bedford Street entrance of the Debenhams store.


Mr Evans, from Penarth, South Glamorgan fell approximately 4.5metres through the canopy on to the granite setts below. He sustained serious injuries as a result of the fall and died later in hospital.


The subsequent HSE investigation found the mobile platform provided was inadequate for the work being carried out. The glass canopy on which Mr Evans was working was not a safe working platform as there was no edge protection and there was a large opening through which he subsequently fell. The court was also told neither of the two workers should have left the safety of the working platform basket.


Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd of Yorkshire House, Grosvenor Crescent, London pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of HSWA 1974. It was fined £200,000 with £17,790 costs.


London Fenestration Trades Ltd of Clare Road, Grangetown, Cardiff pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) HSWA 1974. However, as the firm is in liquidation the court could only notionally fine it £200,000 with £17,790 costs.


COUNCIL SENTENCED OVER PARK INJURY


TO TODDLER A council has appeared in court for sentencing after an incident in which a three-year-old girl was struck by a park ranger’s vehicle.


Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard Nottinghamshire Council staff were using a lightweight all-terrain vehicle to travel around the park while emptying litter bins at the Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest Country Park in August 2011.


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The vehicle went out of control and collided with a three-year-old child who was seated in a pushchair. The girl suffered bruising to her head and leg.


Nottinghamshire County Council of County Hall, Fox Road, West Bridgford pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. It was fined £6,000 with £5,597 costs.


The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told the court its investigation found the Council had not undertaken a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. HSE told the court that


www.tomorrowshs.com


LACK OF TRAINING CAUSED LIFE-


CHANGING INJURIES Essex tree specialist company, Oak View Tree Specialists Limited, has been fined £3,000 with costs of £1,500 after a skip loading dumper overturned and severely injured a worker.


Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard how the injured person, who was an employee at the company, was working at the rear of a house in Benfleet, Essex on 26 September 2014 when the incident occurred. The 19-year-old employee had only a few minutes training on the use of the dumper truck. He had no driving licence and was not wearing a safety belt when he overturned the vehicle.


He was airlifted to hospital where he was found to have broken his back. He spent months in hospital and his injuries are life-changing. It is not known if he will ever be able to walk again.


On 17 June 2015, Oak View Tree Specialists Limited, of Rayleigh, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 as it failed to ensure that its employees received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety.


had it undertaken such an assessment then another method of collecting litter would have been used.


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