A sobering reminder that lying to cover mistakes you have made in serious cases does not work.
A young, 23 year old, was on his first day of work for a company when he was told to do a job which ultimately lead to his death. The worker in question was very inexperienced in construction and demolition, with no training and was at his first day of work because the company was short of labour. He was told by the owner to dismantle a chimney on a house they were working on, by using a power tool in one of the houses bedrooms. As a result, and because there was no support structure in place, the chimney collapsed through the roof and trapped the worker below. He died as a result of his injuries.
When interviewed the owner of the building company said that the employee had only been told to sweep up on the site. However the Police did not believe his story as the power tool had been specifically hired for that day. He lied to try and cover his mistakes. In addition, he did not do a risk assessment for the work, did not supply supports such as scaffold or props, or the most sensible option, did not use a cherry picker from outside.
The company owner pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and breaching sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The sentence is still being deliberated but the judge has warned that the seriousness of the offence and subsequent lying, does merit a custodial sentence.
Showing posts with label health and safety at work act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health and safety at work act. Show all posts
March 20, 2015
March 17, 2015
Special Care on Fragile Roofs
A recent case clearly indicates the procedures that should be implemented to ensure safe working at height and unfortunately, what can go tragically wrong when these are ignored.
A Cumbria based building firm and its owner have both been found guilty of corporate manslaughter following the death of a worker, after he fell nearly 8 metres through a roof on to the concrete floor below. The important message from this tragic incident is that the worker involved did not fall off the roof but rather, he fell through it. More specifically he fell through an unsafe skylight which was clearly designed not to support his weight. The HSE investigation found that the owner of the building firm knew that the skylights were unsafe, but did nothing to prevent the workers walking on them and then falling through.
The company pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £200,000 and £20,000 respectively. In addition it also received a publicity order to inform people of the case and ordered to pay £31,500 in costs.
The owner of the company also pleaded guilty and he was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.
A Cumbria based building firm and its owner have both been found guilty of corporate manslaughter following the death of a worker, after he fell nearly 8 metres through a roof on to the concrete floor below. The important message from this tragic incident is that the worker involved did not fall off the roof but rather, he fell through it. More specifically he fell through an unsafe skylight which was clearly designed not to support his weight. The HSE investigation found that the owner of the building firm knew that the skylights were unsafe, but did nothing to prevent the workers walking on them and then falling through.
The company pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £200,000 and £20,000 respectively. In addition it also received a publicity order to inform people of the case and ordered to pay £31,500 in costs.
The owner of the company also pleaded guilty and he was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.
February 17, 2015
Health and Safety and Corporate Manslaughter
There have been a couple of cases, one that we highlighted recently that brings to the fore the issue of Corporate Manslaughter in the case of Health and Safety offences. Doing the job right tells the story of a building company and freelance Health and Safety Advisor who were both found guilty of Manslaughter and have recently been sent to jail for the offences.
On the 3rd February, 2015 a building and joinery firm was sentenced after pleading guilty in December to ‘corporate manslaughter’ and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of employees. 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, 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 pay costs of £31,504.77.
Clearly the courts are taking these matters very seriously indeed. However, there are other moves in the pipeline which may have even greater consequences. The Sentencing Council has released draft guidelines for the judiciary to place greater emphasis on realistic fines for both Corporate Manslaughter and Health and Safety offences. This could result in the maximum fines for the most serious offences been set at £20 million for Corporate Manslaughter and £10 million for Health and Safety.
On the 3rd February, 2015 a building and joinery firm was sentenced after pleading guilty in December to ‘corporate manslaughter’ and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of employees. 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, 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 pay costs of £31,504.77.
Clearly the courts are taking these matters very seriously indeed. However, there are other moves in the pipeline which may have even greater consequences. The Sentencing Council has released draft guidelines for the judiciary to place greater emphasis on realistic fines for both Corporate Manslaughter and Health and Safety offences. This could result in the maximum fines for the most serious offences been set at £20 million for Corporate Manslaughter and £10 million for Health and Safety.
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