01.03.2005

Scaffolding firm fined £30,000 for death

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has successfully prosecuted scaffolding company,Crowe Fabrications Ltd, before the Old Bailey, London, following an investigation into a fatal incident on 12 July 2002 at Hindred House, 74 Ebury Street, London, the company received fines totalling £30,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £12,000.

Joseph Phillips from Mitcham was killed and Leigh Williams from Wandsworth was seriously injured when the scaffold rig they were dismantling became unbalanced and fell approximately 20 metres into the street.

Following the sentencing, HSE Inspector Kevin Shorten said:

"The tragic events at Ebury Street illustrate the point that whilst
scaffolders work to provide a safe environment for other trades to operate in, their own work remains inherently dangerous if it is not properly planned and carried out, especially during dismantling work.

"This type of work should have a site-specific method statement to ensure that the scaffold remains stable during the dismantling process with suitable measures in place to prevent falls from height."


Regulation 10 (1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 states that "Suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to ensure that the demolition or dismantling of any structure, or any part of any structure, being demolition or dismantling which gives rise to a risk of danger to any person, is planned and carried out in such a manner as to prevent, so far as is practicable, such danger."