Company fined £135,000 following death at Isle of Dogs construction site

COI/LON/105/2009 5 May 2009

The HSE is warning construction firms to ensure they put effective safety systems in place to protect workers from falls. This follows the prosecution of a company over an incident in which a steel worker, Kieron Deeney, fell more than 10 metres to his death on a construction site on the Isle of Dogs.

Laing O'Rourke Construction South Limited, based in Dartford, was fined £135,000 with costs of £18,313.10 last week, after pleading guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, today at the London Central Criminal Court.

The incident happened on 9 August 2004, when Mr Deeney was working as a steel worker at a construction site on the Jemstock Project, off Marsh Wall on the Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets. He was working on a core - a concrete pillar within the structure of a building - on a jumpform, a system that allows the construction of internal walls, slabs and beams ahead of the structural walls. No one witnessed the incident, but a colleague who was working nearby heard a loud bang, and looked through a hole in the deck, which was previously covered with plywood. The fellow worker looked through the hole and immediately noticed Mr Deeny's body in the basement level of the core. Mr Deeney died as a result of this fall.

HSE Inspector Dominic Elliss said: "The risks of working at height and the need to manage voids in platforms are well-known and falls from height remain the most common cause of death in the construction industry. This case highlights the need for robust systems for the covering of voids together with regular effective site inspections to prevent such unacceptable loss of life."

The HSE investigation showed that risk assessments and method statements had been carried out on site, but weekly and monthly checks, identified as necessary by these assessments, were not being adequately carried out. The hole in the core had been covered inadequately with poor quality plywood, and managers on site were not aware of this, nor who had covered it. In addition, the systems in place failed to ensure that there was sufficient edge protection within the jumpform to prevent falls and that the area was kept free from hazards. Following the incident, a prohibition notice was served, immediately stopping work in the core due to the risks of trips and falls.

Notes to editors

1. 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 exposed to risks to their health and safety."
2. Falls from height continue to cause a large proportion of fatal and major injuries in the construction industry. Further information on falls from height can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm
3. Information on safety in the construction industry can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm
4. Laing O'Rourke Construction South Ltd was known as Laing O'Rourke London an South East until 2006

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR London.