Construction company director fined £30,000 for worker’s death

The director of a construction company based in Cheshire has been personally fined £30,000 following the death of a construction worker who fell to his death.

Workers employed by Galt Civil Engineering Ltd had been building brick manhole chambers above flood water tanks when one of the workers fell into an empty tank, a total height of 15m, and died from his injuries.

An investigation into the accident conducted by the Health & Safety Executive discovered that Galt Civil Engineering Ltd had not undertaken an adequate risk assessment relating to the work being undertaken and workers had not been given advice on how to carry out the work in a safe manner.

After the director and Galt Civil Engineering Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of workers under the Health and Safety at Work etc  Act 1974 the director was fined £30,000 and Galt Civil Engineering Ltd, which has since entered into administration, was ordered to pay £24,974 in legal costs and a nominal fine of £50.

Approximately a third of workplace fatalities occur in the construction industry with falls from height being the most common cause of death within the sector.

As well as the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, companies and directors working in the construction industry should also familiarise themselves with the implications of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (the Act). The Act, which came into force in 2008, made it easier for authorities to convict organisations and senior management for corporate manslaughter by making it harder for responsibility to be divulged to lower levels of the organisation.

In the event of a worker dying on site, an organisation will be found guilty of corporate manslaughter under the Act if senior management of the company’s activities (including any processes and procedures it has put in place) fall “far below” what would be reasonably expected of the company and amount to a “gross breach” of a duty of care owed by the company to the deceased individual. Importantly, the groups to which a construction company or developer owes a duty of care extends far beyond its own employees and workers to include any visitor to the site and even trespassers.

For the purposes of the Act “senior management” includes any person within the company’s chain of management or those otherwise playing a significant role in decision making processes or the organisation of the company’s activities. A significant effect of the Act is that construction companies can no longer avoid liability by simply delegating decision making or management tasks to lower levels of employees as such inappropriate delegation will be considered a breach in and of itself. In essence, senior management have ultimate responsibility and must ensure health and safety procedures are not only in place across the organisation but are being implemented and enforced at all levels.

 In the event a death occurs the investigation that follows is likely to be highly disruptive to the running of the company and if found guilty of a breach under the Act can lead to significant fines, often linked to the turnover of the organisation or an associated parent company.

It is advised that construction companies ensure accurate records and documentation relating to health and safety training, reviews of procedures, site assessments and amendments to procedures following non-fatal accidents are produced and stored for use as potential supporting evidence.

Holmes & Hills Solicitors has a team of personal injury lawyers that represent clients across the country in successfully claiming compensation for injuries sustained due to accidents at work.