COI/LON/000/2007 18 December 2007
A developer and a contractor from north London, whose poor working practices left a Polish construction worker, Pawel Szczotka, permanently disabled, were fined a total of £110,000 and ordered to pay £165,000 in costs today at Croydon Crown Court, following an investigation and prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
The incident took place on 16 March 2005 at a building site by the North Circular Road in Brent, London. A warehouse was being built by local developer Gargreen Ltd using its associated contractor Euro's (London) Ltd, both based at the North Circular Road address. Workers were moving a two-ton concrete slab into position in the warehouse by rolling it across a mezzanine floor on metal tubes. The slab became jammed while it was being placed on the steel frame of the floor. Mr Szczotka and a colleague went under the slab in order to push it up into position on the frame using a prop. When Mr Szczotka attempted to jack up the slab, it fell on him.
Mr Szczotka, who is 33 and married with three young children, suffered major crush and fracture injuries to his pelvis and legs. More than two years on, he is still severely disabled, and medical experts doubt his ability to ever work again. He came to Britain as a migrant worker just weeks before the incident and, despite having no previous training or experience working on a construction site, he was employed by the contractor, paid cash in hand, and was not provided with any training.
HSE Inspector Simon Hester, who investigated the incident, said: "The working methods that were used in this case were not acceptable. Companies must ensure safe systems of work are in place to prevent this type of incident, and to ensure that this does not happen again.
"This case also highlights the risks that migrant workers can be exposed to when unaware of employers' health and safety responsibilities and their own rights. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 protects the rights of all workers regardless of their origin.
The client for the project, Gargreen Ltd, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of regulation 6 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 for failing to appoint a Planning Supervisor to oversee safety requirements on the construction site.
The principal contractor building the warehouse, Euro's (London) Ltd, was found guilty of breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure that a safe system of work was in place and for inadequate training and supervision of the work. The company had also pleaded guilty to a breach of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 as they did not report the incident to HSE as required. The court imposed a total fine of £100 and ordered no costs to be paid.
Mr Vijay Kara, a director of both Euro's (London) Ltd and Gargreen Ltd, and who played a direct role in managing the construction work on the site, was charged with an offence under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which alleged that the breaches by both companies were a result of his own personal negligence. The court found him guilty and he was fined £99,900 and ordered to pay costs of £150,000. Mr Kara was told he had six months to pay or he would face a custodial sentence.
During sentencing Judge Pratt said: "This was a case of putting a saving of money before the safety of the workers. I am convinced that you Mr Kara were playing every trick in the book to evade your responsibilities."
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