Construction giant fined £160k after man falls to his death

Date:

23 September 2010

Release No:

HSE/NW/54Kier

A major construction firm has been fined £160,000 after a labourer fell to his death while building Premier League side Everton FC's new training academy.

Karl Davis, who was married and lived in Wallasey, was working on the first floor of a building on the Finch Lane site in Halewood when a guardrail gave way and he fell out of an open window frame.

Kier North West, part of the Kier group which has an annual turnover of more than £2.4bn, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the incident on 27 February 2007.

The window frame from which Mr Davis fell

Mr Davis remained in a coma for three months before he died on 29 May, less than a week after his 43rd birthday.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that a rubbish chute had been attached to a temporary guardrail at the window frame, leading to a skip below. Kier North West's site management team had failed to ensure that the guardrail could withstand the weight of the chute and materials being thrown down it.

HSE inspector Robert Hodkinson said:

"What is incredibly sad about this incident is that a man lost his life when equipment installed to make the work safer failed. Kier North West should have planned and managed the use of the rubbish chute on the site to make sure it was safe.

"Falls from height are the biggest single cause of death and serious injury at work and employers must make sure not only that they provide suitable safety equipment, but that it is also installed, used and maintained properly.

Karl Davis

"If Kier North West had ensured the rubbish chute was attached to a structure which could support its weight then Mr Davis would still be alive today."

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of workers. Kier North West, which is based in Tempsford Hall in Sandy, Bedfordshire, was ordered to pay £43,993 costs in addition to the fine.

In 2008/9, there were 35 deaths and more than 4,000 major injuries caused by falls from height.

Information on how to prevent falls from height is available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.

Notes to editors

1. 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 its employees."
2. 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

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