Firms fined £130,000 after worker’s death
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Crane and Transport Services and Micor fined £130,000 after 31-tonne beam fell and crushed worker
roger.brown@rbi.co.uk A JUDGE HAS ordered two irms to pay ines totalling £130,000 after a worker was killed by a 31-tonne concrete beam being placed on the back of a lowloader truck.
In a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Basildon Crown Court heard on 11 March how father of four Gary Drinkald, 43, was working for Micor on a building site during the overnight demolition work of the A1306 Stifford Rail Bridge, West Thurrock, Essex, on 6 April 2006.
A 31-tonne concrete beam had been removed from the bridge and placed on the back of the low-loader lorry. The chains securing the beam had been removed from the crane before it was secured to the low-loader, then the beam fell – crushing Drinkald under it.
Both Micor, based in Chelmsford, Essex, and Kent-based Crane and Transport Services pleaded guilty to the charges at Southend Crown Court on 27 May 2010.
Micor, the main demolition contractor, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was ined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000 at Basildon Crown Court.
Crane and Transport Services was subcontracted to provide staff to supervise the lifting procedure and pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It was ined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000. Ainscough Crane Hire, which was subcontracted to supply and manage the lifting operation and associated plant and materials, was acquitted of all charges at a hearing at Basildon Crown Court in January 2011.
Nicola Surrey, HSE inspector, says: “With adequate planning and supervision of how the concrete beam should have been secured on the low-loader lorry, this outcome could have been avoided.
“This case is a warning to other employers that there are serious consequences for not protecting their workforce.”