07.08.2015

Scissor lift incident

We have received a number of reports that two men working from a scissor lift were seriously injured in and incident at a motorway site in the UK on Monday.

From what we understand that the two were working on a rebar cage located on a bridge pier when it broke away from the structure and fell onto the scissor lift, causing it to overturn. One of the men suffered serious head injuries, and remains on a ventilator and in critical condition, the other has a broken leg. A third man just managed to run clear of the falling platform.

The incident occurred on the A556 bypass scheme, near the M56 near Altrincham, Greater Manchester. The main contractor on the site is Costain.

The Health & Safety Executive is investigating – as soon as we learn more we will update this item

UPDATE July 2020

Contractors Costain and Brenbuild have received fines totalling more than £1.3 million following this incident.
The two men were working on a rebar cage attached to a bridge pier, when it fell and struck the platform overturning it.

One man sustained life changing head injuries and the second a leg fracture. An investigation found there was no temporary support for the cage and revealed that both contractors were aware that it was unstable and that workers on site had raised concerns. Brenbuild failed to stop work or implement control measures, while Costain failed to plan, manage and monitor construction of the central pier.

Brenbuild was fined £80,000, plus costs of £21,730.11, while Costain was fined £1.2 million plus costs of £21,644.51.