Contractor fined after worker crushed by wall

Date:

21 May 2010

Release No:

COILON/21-05

A contractor was today fined £7,000 for breaching health and safety law after a builder broke his back and ribs when a wall fell on him at a construction site in Forest Gate.

Jason Lunnon, 41, from Barnet was seriously injured when he was struck by the falling concrete blocks on the site in Field Road, Newham.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the principal contractor, Keith Gardner, trading as K P Gardner Builders, for failing to ensure Mr Lunnon's safety on the site. He was also ordered to pay costs of £6,969.50.

On 26 March 2009, Mr Lunnon was working on the first floor of a partially-constructed block of flats.

A wall, built on the third floor the previous day, had not been properly secured and a gust of wind blew it over, sending concrete blocks more than seven metres below on top of Mr Lunnon.

Mr Lunnon fractured seven ribs, broke his back in four places, fractured his right hand and also suffered serious damage to his internal organs.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation showed that Keith Gardner had failed to properly plan, manage and monitor work at the site.

Keith Gardner of Cairns Avenue, Woodford Green, Waltham Forest pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at the City of London Magistrates' Court.

HSE Inspector Paul Hems said: "Despite his terrible injuries, Mr Lunnon is lucky to be alive. This could have so easily been a much more serious incident.

"As the builder in charge of the project, Mr Gardner was responsible for ensuring the health and safety of everyone working at the site. This included ensuring the stability of walls during construction.

"Mr Gardner was made aware of the wind affecting the newly -built walls, but failed to take appropriate action to ensure their stability.

"The HSE investigation also found other safety failings at the site, including failure to properly manage risks of falling. There was a comprehensive failure to implement key elements of the construction phase plan."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every self-employed person to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he and other persons (not being his employees) who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."
3. For more information on statistics for construction injures, please see: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction/index.htm

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