Crane accident costs construction firm GBP 21,248
September 22, 2008
A construction firm is fined £15,000 plus £6,248 in costs after an accident left an employee unable to work for months.
The company, Corus UK, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A man broke his leg and sustained back injuries when the cargo of a crane he was operating caught on a building and struck him.
The heaviest of the steel beams which fell from the machine weighed 1.7 tonnes and measured 16 metres.
An inspector for the Health and Safety Executive Bruno Porter describes cranes equipped with electromagnets as safer in certain ways but claims they introduce further risks.
"[They] were well known at Corus and an alternative way of working should have been found to protect both the operator and other workers in the area," he says.
He states the length of the steel beams and layout of the site meant there was no safe position from which the crane should have been operated.
Earlier this month, Building magazine reported Strategic Forum released advice targeted at construction companies using the machines.
It recommends efforts are made to allow passers-by to contact site operators with any concerns they have about a crane's safety.
The company, Corus UK, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A man broke his leg and sustained back injuries when the cargo of a crane he was operating caught on a building and struck him.
The heaviest of the steel beams which fell from the machine weighed 1.7 tonnes and measured 16 metres.
An inspector for the Health and Safety Executive Bruno Porter describes cranes equipped with electromagnets as safer in certain ways but claims they introduce further risks.
"[They] were well known at Corus and an alternative way of working should have been found to protect both the operator and other workers in the area," he says.
He states the length of the steel beams and layout of the site meant there was no safe position from which the crane should have been operated.
Earlier this month, Building magazine reported Strategic Forum released advice targeted at construction companies using the machines.
It recommends efforts are made to allow passers-by to contact site operators with any concerns they have about a crane's safety.
More Court Cases news:
Knauf pays GBP 7,000 after accident - November 18, 2008Inquest suggests accident 'due to lack of communication' - November 18, 2008
Calderbrook Estates and contractor fined - November 13, 2008
Scotts Company fined GBP 80,000 over accident - November 13, 2008
Working at height accident costs firm GBP 30k - November 12, 2008
