Cherren III fined £75,000 following worker death

HSE Press Release: E110:04 - 29 July 2004

London-based development company Cherren III was today fined £75,000 at Southwark Crown Court, London. The case followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the death of Mr Mark Butler on 9 October 2000 during the development of buildings in Fitzroy Square, London.

Cherren III had earlier pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, in that they failed to ensure persons not in their employment, including Mark Butler, were not exposed to risks to their safety. Mr Butler, from Woking, Surrey, was working as a heating engineer on the development, he was measuring for a heating installation when he fell. He had climbed an unguarded ladder to a half platform on the ground floor, from which he fell a distance of approximately 2.4 metres, into the basement. He died 12 days later in the Royal Free hospital as a result of his injuries.

Cherren III, the principle contractor on the site had not carried out a risk assessment for the area in which Mr Butler was working. The half platform that Mr Butler fell from did not have any edge protection, nor had the area been designated an exclusion zone.

HSE inspector Michael La Rose, who led the investigation, said:

"The sad death of Mr Butler was easily avoidable. Property developers who act as principal contractors have a responsibility to ensure that adequate arrangements are made for the daily management of health and safety on their construction sites. Cherren III neglected the safety of people working on the site. This is the type of incident that needs to be prevented if the construction industry is to improve its safety record. As figures published today indicate, falls from height still account for over half of all fatalities in construction. The safeguards needed are straightforward and easy to put in place. Experience shows these events usually arise from poor management control rather than because of equipment failure. Wherever anyone could fall more than two metres the first line of defence is to provide adequate edge protection."

Cherren III of 61 Brook Street, London, were fined £75,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000.

Notes to editors

1. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

2. The maximum penalty for a single offence under Section 3(1) in a Crown Court is an unlimited fine.

3. HSE published the annual statistics of fatal injuries for 2003/04, on 29 July 2004, the press release can be viewed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2004/c04037.htm

4. In construction during 2003/04 there were 70 fatal injuries to workers - the same as 2003/03. The rate of fatal injury to workers fell from 3.8 to 3.5 per hundred thousand workers, reflecting an increase in the number of workers. This is the lowest level on record.

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