Balfour fined after worker dies and another injured in scissor lift accident

Balfour Beatty has been fined £285,000 after a worker died and another was seriously injured in a scissor lift accident.

Igor Malka, 62, and a second contractor, Edmund Vispulskis, had been in a scissor lift while installing cladding during the construction of a new engineering hall at the University of Birmingham on 7 January 2020.

Both fell approximately 10m to the ground when the scissor lift was pushed over by a nearby gantry crane being used to move hydraulic equipment.

Malka died and Vispulskis sustained injuries to his spine and broken ribs, before spending seven weeks in a neck brace. He also required pins to be inserted in his pelvis and thigh.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the accident could have been prevented had Balfour Beatty implemented better controls and put in place better communication between contractors.

There were contractors at the site who were moving the hydraulic units into place with the overhead travelling gantry crane. Another team was installing internal cladding.

Balfour Beatty, as principal contractor on site, had a duty to ensure communication and cooperation between these contractors. There was also no lift supervisor present at the time of the incident.

Balfour Beatty, of Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £285,000 and ordered to pay £21,768.88 in costs at Birmingham Crown Court on 16 September 2024.

The University of Birmingham was not prosecuted by HSE.