HSE/NW/121/06. GNN142474P. 22 December 2006

Five pay over £144,000 following Warrington death

Companies are today reminded of the need to ensure proper training and supervision is given to employees following the death of an untrained demolition worker.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today successfully brought criminal charges against five different parties after the death of Mr David Moran. Between them they were fined a total of £87,000 and ordered to pay £57,228 costs at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

David fell eight metres to his death when he stepped on a fragile roof light at 17 Chesford Grange in Warrington on 20 September 2002. David and another untrained demolition worker, Anthony Harris from Collyhurst, Manchester, were using the roof to access another roof on the site.

HSE construction inspector for Cheshire Nic Rigby who brought the cases to court said: "This prosecution follows the tragic death of a young man on a site in Warrington. Unfortunately, his death is not unique: on average, one person is killed on a construction site in Great Britain every five or six days, and many more are seriously injured."

David's employer Elmsgold Haulage Ltd of Clayton House, Piccadilly, Manchester and John McSweeney, of Willow Road, Prestwich, the Managing Director of Elmsgold Haulage Ltd - pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 2(1) of The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) in that they failed to provide a safe system of work and failed to ensure that people working on site were properly trained and supervised, and a third charge under Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 in that they failed to ensure that lifting equipment was properly examined and inspected.

Elmsgold Haulage was fined £10,000 for each charge and ordered to pay total costs of £9,756. Mr McSweeney was fined £5,000 for each charge and ordered to pay total costs of £5,000.

Demolition contractor Excavation & Contracting (UK) Ltd of Sandringham Avenue, Denton in Manchester, the principal contractor for the Chesford Grange project, and the company's former Managing Director Bernard O'Sullivan, now living in Australia, pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 3 (1) of the HSW Act in that they each failed to ensure that risks to non employees were adequately controlled.

Excavation & Contracting (UK) Ltd was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay £9,972 costs. Bernard O'Sullivan was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 costs.

Dennis O'Connor, of St James' Road, Orrell, Wigan, Elmsgold Haulage's site foreman pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 7 of the HSW Act in that he failed to ensure the safety of other employees. He was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs.

At an earlier hearing at Warrington Magistrate's Court on 31 January 2006, John Edge of Knight Frank, a property management company acting for the owner of Chesford Grange and planning supervisor for the project, pleaded guilty to two charges under Regulation 15 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 for which Knight Frank was fined a total of £7,000 plus full prosecution costs of £4,500.

Knight Frank operated as a partnership, which does not constitute a legal entity for the purposes of prosecution, and therefore the case was taken against one of the partners, Mr John Edge.

Notes to editors

Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 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 or safety."
Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; and as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer or any other person by or under any of the relevant statutory provisions, to co-operate with him so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with."
Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Subject to paragraph (6), every employer shall ensure that lifting equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is
- thoroughly examined
  - in the case of lifting equipment for lifting persons or an accessory for lifting, at least every 6 months.
  - in the case of other lifting equipment, at least every 12 months; or
  - in either case, in accordance with an examination scheme; and
  - each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the lifting equipment have occurred; and
- if appropriate for the purpose, is inspected by a competent person at suitable intervals between thorough examinations
  - to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time."
Maximum penalty in a Crown Court for breaches of health and safety legislation is an unlimited fine for each offence.

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