Construction accident results in $250,000 fine for UK company
A Littlehampton, West Sussex construction site accident that nearly resulted in the death of a worker cost Landmark Groundworks more than $250,000 American dollars in fines and expenses after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, the United Kingdom’s workplace safety administration. The construction worker, a 48 year old man, was unable to work for almost one year due to the multiple injuries to his pelvis, leg and arm he suffered after falling more than 12 feet during a home renovation project. The motion range of his left arm is still significantly limited.
The injured worker was helping to build a basement edition on the home when four improperly installed concrete floor planks weighing more than 4,000 pounds each gave way while he and another worker were standing on them. The other worker moved out of the way when the flooring collapsed, but the injured man was unable to do so. In the subsequent investigation, the Health and Safety Executive inspectors determined that the construction company by not following design proposals submitted by structural engineers and checking the weight bearing capabilities of the flooring beams before allowing the construction project to commence, had not complied with the safety guidelines established to prevent this sort of accident from occurring.
As a result, the company was found guilty of violating the Health and Safety at Work etc Act of 1974 and fined £110,000 (equivalent to more than $170,000 in U.S. currency). Landmark Groundworks was also ordered to pay £50,000 (equivalent to more than $78,000) in other costs. According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive, about 3,000 construction workers suffered severe injuries on the jobsite in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2011, and 50 were killed in fatal workplace accidents.
