Companies fined £87,000 following workplace fatality

HSE Press Release:E173-04 - 20 December 2004

Two companies, Krypton Health Construction Ltd (KHCL) and Controlled Flame Boilers Ltd (CFBL), today received fines totalling £87,000 in the Central Criminal Court, London. The prosecution, brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed its investigation into the death of pipe fitting engineer Mr Robert Burchett.

On 10 April 2002 Mr Burchett, aged 40, sustained fatal injuries following a fall of 9 metres from an unprotected edge on a site where an operating theatre was being built at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. HSE had alleged that both companies had failed in their duty of care towards Mr Burchett by exposing him to risks to his safety. KHCL and CFBL each pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) at an earlier hearing at City of London Magistrates on 6 September 2004. CFBL had at the same time also pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 6 of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSWR) which relates to preventing persons from falling.

Inspector Giles Meredith, from HSE’s Construction Division who investigated the fatality said:

“My investigation into the circumstances of Mr Burchett’s death revealed serious failures by both companies in respect of their duties under health and safety law. A fairly standard construction site activity – lifting a boiler into place – was neither properly planned nor supervised. The method statement that was produced came nowhere near to adequately addressing the risks involved. There was nothing in place to prevent Mr Burchett falling from the building in question. The risks of working at height and lifting are both well understood and well known in the construction industry and yet still more workers die in this manner than from any other construction activity. If we are to reverse this then the industry must wake up and do more at every level.”

KHCL of Twyford Business Park, Bishop’s Stortford, Essex was fined £35,000 for breaching Section 3(1) of the HSW Act and ordered to pay costs to HSE of £5,000. CFBL was fined £26,000 for breaching Section 3(1) of the HSW Act, and £26,000 for breaching CHSWR. CFBL was ordered to pay costs to HSE of £8,000.

Notes to editors

1. Section 3 (1) of HSWA states: “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 and safety.
2. Regulation 6 of the CHSWR states: “Suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling…..the steps referred to ….. include the provision of - (a) any guard-rail, toe-board, barrier or other similar means of protection: or (b) any working platform,….”
3. The maximum penalty that can be imposed at a Crown Court for both a single breach of Section 3(1) of the HSW Act and a single breach of a CHSWR regulation is an unlimited fine.
4. In 2003/4, 70 workers in construction died; 38 of these fatalities were caused by falling from height. There were 1107 major injuries as a result from falling from height in 2003/04, accounting for 28% of all major injuries to employees.
5. Information about the work of HSE’s Construction Division can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm

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