House builder Crest Nicholson has been fined £800,000 after a contractor was run over on a site in Wokingham.
David Cole was a site foreman on the large housing development project, which started in April 2013 and has a completion date of April 2017. He was struck by and pulled under a large bulk powder carrier.
On 7 December 2014 Cole, who was contracted to Harlequin Brickwork Ltd, was walking along the site road at Mulberry Grove toward the rear of a bulk powder (mortar) carrier. The vehicle was located on a T-junction having just reversed into the junction. Cole walked along the nearside of the vehicle as it pulled forward and turned towards the nearside. He was hit by the vehicle and pulled under it.
He suffered serious life threatening injuries. His skin was removed and split on his left arm and leg, he fractured his left hip requiring a pin to be inserted, and fingers on his left hand were broken. His left leg has been left permanently shorter than his right by 20mm.
Reading Crown Court heard the site, run by the principal contractor, Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd, had failed to plan and manage the workplace transport effectively. Prosecuting, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told the court the incident could have been avoided had they monitored and taken action to ensure workers stayed behind the pedestrian barriers and not walked on the road, and prevented large HGVs reversing hundreds of metres at a time.
Crest Nicholson Operations, of Crest House, Pyrcroft Road, Chertsey, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 36 (1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and was fined £800,000 plus £10,984 costs.
HSE’s inspector John Berezansky said: “David Cole suffered life-changing injuries because Crest Nicolson Operations Limited did not properly manage and monitor the workplace transport on their construction site. When working with such large delivery vehicles and construction plant, especially on projects where there are lots of pedestrians, the principal contractor must take responsibility and ensure the health and safety of all those involved.”
Meanwhile, two scaffolders from St Austell, Cornwall, have received suspended prison sentences after a worker fell 7m to his death.
Roger Stoddern, 47, was dismantling scaffolding on 24 June 2013, when he fell from a flat roof of a property in St Mawes. He was taken to Derriford Hospital but died three weeks later due to the severity of his injuries.
Truro Crown Court heard how Stoddern was stacking 3m roofing sheets on the flat roof of the property without any edge protection. The safety railing had been removed to allow access to the flat roof so the sheets could be stacked. The court also heard how one of the defendants replaced the safety rail following the incident to cover up the cause of the incident.
The Health and Safety Executive’s investigation, alongside Devon and Cornwall police, found that Colin Marshall Scaffolding was not qualified to erect the scaffolding and there was evidence no personal protective equipment, such as harnesses, was used. The condition of the scaffolding also failed to meet current safety standards.
Colin Marshall, of St Austell, founder of the business pleaded guilty to Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for two-years. James Marshall, also of St Austell, Colin’s son and business partner was handed an eight-month sentence suspended for two-years. They were ordered to pay costs of £25,661.
