Lawford Kidd's Blog

A Glasgow-based construction firm has been fined following the death of a worker after he was crushed when a 1.6-tonne frame fell on him.

Daniel Hurley had been working with machinery near an area where the structural steelwork for a stair tower was being erected on the site. The Court heard that not long after the steel frame had been erected it began to tilt and fall towards Mr Hurley. Three of the anchor bolts that were supposed to support the structure came out of the ground, with the fourth being snapped in half.

Mr Hurley attempted to run away from the falling framework but was struck in the neck by the level of the structure. Despite receiving treatment at the scene, Mr Hurley died of his injuries.

A property company based in Lancashire has been found guilty of exposing workers to dangerous conditions when working at heights.

Responding to complaints about the working conditions and the safety conditions for workers, the Health and Safety Executive sent officials to investigate the claims. The inspectors found workers stripping slates from a fragile roof without any measures in place to prevent a fall through it. The report from officials stated that the worker was in a life-threatening position and could have easily perished as a result of the lack of health and safety procedures.

As a result of the report and findings of inspectors KML (Properties) Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of Work at Height Regulations and was fined £10,400 as well as pleading guilty to other breaches of employment law.

With the number of construction site inspections in Scotland falling by 30 per cent last year, according to the Union for Workers in the Construction Sector (UCATT), the lives of construction workers in Scotland are being put at an increased risk

To explain, despite inspecting 1,248 Scottish constructions sites in 2012/13 and carrying out 1,250 inspections in 2011/12, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) only inspected 881 construction sites across Scotland last year.

Health and safety at construction sites continues to be a cause for concern after a national targeted inspection focusing on health risks for construction workers saw enforcement action taken at one in six of the sites that were visited.

During a concentrated two-week period of proactive inspections, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) demanded improvements, and in some cases put an immediate stop to work activities, where they fell short of expected standards.

Inspectors focused on significant health risk issues, such as respiratory risks from dusts containing silica materials, exposure to other hazardous substances such as cement and lead paint, manual handling, noise and vibration.

The issue of building site safety is never far from the spotlight, with the Health and Safety Executive frequently running initiatives designed to highlight the risks that can occur in this type of work, and how these risks can be best managed.

However, despite these best efforts, too many employers continue to ignore the advice and examples of best practice available, and as a result workers continue to suffer serious or life-threatening injuries at work.

Worker suffers broken back

In one recent example a Cardiff-based worker was lucky to escape with his life after falling seven metres from a roof and breaking his back.