IN THE COURTS
£100K FINE AFTER WORKER KILLED OFFSHORE
An offshore services company has been fined £100,000 following an incident in which a worker died after plunging 23 metres from a platform into the sea.
Lee Bertram, then 37, from Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, was working for Bilfinger Salamis UK Limited on a platform in the North Sea when the incident happened on 16th June 2011.
Mr Bertram was using ropes to access below the deck and carry out a sweep for dropped objects that could fall into the water, potentially injuring divers working in the sea below.
As Mr Bertram started his ascent back up to the deck he had to stop just below the hatch in order to open the rope protector so he could move his ‘jammer’ up the working rope and move on.
However, as he pushed down on his foot loop to come up through the hatch both the main and the safety rope
sheared against a sharp edge and he fell to the sea – a distance of 23 metres – striking steelwork as he fell.
When he landed in the water, his lifejacket inflated and a rescue vessel was deployed. Despite showing some signs of consciousness during the rescue he died from his injuries before reaching the onsite hospital.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the job Mr Bertram was undertaking had not been properly planned and was contrary both to industry (IRATA) guidelines and the company’s own procedures.
Inspectors concluded that had the work been properly planned the edge of the hatch would have been identified as being sharp and the risk of rigged ropes coming into contact with it could have been prevented. Instead the ropes were rigged against the edge leading them to be severed.
BUILDING FIRM SENTENCED FOR CORPORATE
MANSLAUGHTER A building firm and its owner have been sentenced at Preston Crown Court following an incident in 2011 where a man died after falling through a roof.
Peter Mawson Ltd, a building and joining firm, pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and admitted a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act in December 2014. The company was fined £200,000 for the corporate manslaughter offence and £20,000 for the Health and Safety breach.
The owner of the company, Peter Mawson, also pleaded guilty to a breach of the same Act and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years; 200 hours unpaid work; a publicity order to advertise what happened on the company website for a set period of time, and to take out a half page spread in the local newspaper; and to pay costs of £31,504.77.
At around 3:15pm on Tuesday 25th October 2011 emergency services attended West Cumberland Farmers LTD, Lindal, Ulverston, following a report that a man had fallen through a roof. The man, 42-year- old Jason Pennington, had fallen through the skylight from a height of approximately 7.6 meters onto a concrete floor. He was taken to Furness General Hospital where he died a short time later.
Chris Hatton, the investigating inspector at HSE, added: “Peter Mawson knew the clear panels on the roof weren’t safe to walk on but neither he nor his company provided any equipment to prevent workers falling to their death. If scaffolding or netting had been fitted under the fragile panels, or covers had been fitted over them, then Jason would still be here today.”
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