03.01.2008

Company fined £40,000 after crane accident

UK contracotr Sir Robert McAlpine has been fined £40,000 plus costs after a worker lost his foot in a crane accident.

The Health and Safety Executive hit McAlpine with the five-figure sum and costs of £12,526 at the Old Bailey on December 21.

The worker at a construction site in London had his foot amputated after a mobile crane struck a lamppost which fell onto his leg in July 2005.

McAlpine had earlier pleaded guilty to breaching a section of the Health and Safety at Work Act that sets out to protect employees.

On the back of this case the HSE has warned employers to ensure that they have completely safe systems of work in place when installing cranes.

HSE Inspector Monica Babb said: "Crane operations can present serious risks and it is therefore essential that crane installation is properly planned and implemented. Management systems should be clear so that a safe system of work is employed and incidents such as this are avoided."