27.05.2008

Tower crane prosecution

After years of waiting the UK’s Health & Safety Executive has finally decided to prosecute W.D.Bennetts Plant & Services and Eurolift (Tower cranes) for the tower crane accident at a School in Worthing in February 2005.

The charges relate to claimed breaches to sections of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.
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Vertikal Comment

The first hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, given that this case is now sub-judiciary, it would be inappropriate and possibly in contempt of court for us to make any further comment on the accident itself.
However, it is a scandal that the Health and Safety Executive has waited well over three years to prosecute this case. In all that time any detailed information that it may have been gleaned from the accident has been held back pending a possible court case.
This method of working with health and safety issues is patently wrong and should be changed, the HSE, says that its hands are tied by legislation, however it is in a position to demand that, and lobby for, the law to be changed.
In the USA, which is far from perfect in this area, such incidents are investigated, the findings published and prosecutions implemented within six months. The problem there is that the penalties placed on employers which have been clearly negligent are often way too lenient and often a joke.
A combination of the US speed and the UK penalty levels would most certainly lead to a safer workplace.