Scaffolding firm fined £30,000 following death of worker

HSE Press Release: E029:05 - 24 February 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted a scaffolding company, Crowe Fabrications Ltd, before the Old Bailey, London, following an investigation into a fatal incident on 12 July 2002 at Hindred House, 74 Ebury Street, London, SW1. Today the company received fines totalling £30,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £12,000.

Joseph Phillips from Mitcham was killed and Leigh Williams from Wandsworth was seriously injured when the scaffold rig they were dismantling became unbalanced and fell approximately 60 feet into the street.

Following the sentencing, HSE Inspector Kevin Shorten said:

“The tragic events at Ebury Street illustrate the point that whilst scaffolders work to provide a safe environment for other trades to operate in, their own work remains inherently dangerous if it is not properly planned and carried out, especially during dismantling work.

“This type of work should have a site-specific method statement to ensure that the scaffold remains stable during the dismantling process with suitable measures in place to prevent falls from height.”

Crowe Plant Fabrications Ltd from Earlsfield, London, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 6 January 2005 to breaching Section 2(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 10(1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. Today the company was fined £15,000 for the former breach and £15,000 for the latter.

Notes to editors

1. Falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury and the second most common cause of major injury to employees, accounting for 15 per cent of all such injuries. All industry sectors are exposed to the risks presented by this hazard although the level of incidence varies considerably.
2. Health and Safety advice on working at heights is available from our website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm
3. Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”
4. Regulation 10 (1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 states that “Suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to ensure that the demolition or dismantling of any structure, or any part of any structure, being demolition or dismantling which gives rise to a risk of danger to any person, is planned and carried out in such a manner as to prevent, so far as is practicable, such danger.”

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