Prosecutions
A construction company has been sentenced after the lives of up to 30 workers were put at risk at two new waterfront apartment blocks in Liverpool.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the firm following a visit to the construction site in the city centre on 29 April 2010, which revealed major safety concerns.
The inspection of the six-story apartment blocks found several areas of the site had no barriers to stop workers falling and being seriously injured or even killed.
They included an open lift shaft, a staircase landing between the fourth and fifth floors with no walls or rails, and an empty floor-to-ceiling window frame on the sixth floor with a rubbish chute attached.
The HSE investigation concluded that a worker could easily have fallen out of the window frame while emptying rubbish into the chute, if they had tripped on a plank of wood next to it.
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that HSE also issued four enforcement notices following a previous visit to the site on 22 October 2009. They included a prohibition notice relating to falls from height, stopping work taking place until improvements had been made.
The firm was found guilty of breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to take measures to prevent workers being injured in a fall. The company was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,981 on 25 November 2010.
The investigating inspector from the HSE commented:
“This is one of the worst cases I have ever dealt with and the comapany is extremely lucky that no one was seriously injured. The company was managing a major construction project in Liverpool city centre, but the conditions on the site were appalling.
“There were several instances where the company had failed to do anything to prevent falls, and put lives in danger as a result. We issued four enforcement notices, and offered written advice on managing the risks from falls, following a previous visit.
“Sadly, despite initially making improvements, the company appears to have fallen back into old habits within a few weeks.”