Construction Health and Safety Consultancy and CDM Adviser Services

Construction Firm Fined £100,000 after Young Man Killed on the Job
Posted by David Cant on February 8, 2012
1 Comment

A young man aged just 23 years old lost his life while working for the construction firm JN Bentley Ltd. Steven Allen was on site helping to move approximately 30 bags of cement while the company were carrying out a construction job for Bradford Council.

Tragic Accident Happened Just Days before Worker was Due to Leave the Company

In what was supposed to be Mr Allen’s last couple of days working for the construction firm he was caught in a grab machined and died from the extensive crush injuries which were caused by the jaws of the machine. The grab machine was being used to move the heavy pallet of cement bags. During the process two bags fell off from the block grab which was attached to an excavator.

The pallet remained trapped in the jaws so Mr Allen tried to pull it free. The jaws of the grab machined dropped the pallet and then trapped Mr Allen by his head which caused terrible crushing injuries which resulted in the death of the young worker within 24 hours.

Investigation by the HSE Showed Fatal Errors

When the Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident which occurred back in March 2007 they discovered a lot of evidence to suggest that the tragic accident could have been avoided by JN Bentley Ltd.  One of the concerns was that the machinery used to move the pallets of cement bags was not designed for the job. The instructions of the machinery did not include activities of that type at all and therefore should not have been used in the manner it was.  The construction firm had not put in place a safe system of work which should have been created in order to lift and move the heavy bags.

JN Bentley ltd pleaded guilty when they appeared before the Bradford Crown Court.  They admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act which indicates that it is the duty of the employer to do everything that is practical to ensure the safety of their employees.  Bradford Crown Court ordered Mr Allen’s employers to pay £106,250 in fines and have to pay an additional £90,000 in costs.

Prepare, Plan and Supervise

Health and safety consultants can help to prevent tragic accidents such as the death of Mr Allen through various methods. Extensive health and safety services are available to the construction industry which can highlight areas of weakness regarding the welfare and safety of employees.

In the above incident the accident could have been prevented by adhering to the manufacturers’ specific instructions on how to use the machinery and in what circumstances. JN Bentley decided to go ahead and use it for a purpose that it was not designed for, and a young man lost his life.

To avoid accidents, injuries and prevent work place fatalities speak to health and safety consultants about how they are able to help your company.  Call 0800 1488 677 to request further information about the construction health and safety services which are currently available.

About 

David Cant is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner extraordinaire. He has a wealth of Industry experience and is the MD of Veritas Consulting. David also Blogs about Health and Safety here Health and Safety Consultants

His aim is to flavour Health and Safety with integrity, served with a side of humour You can find David on - Twitter and Google also Linkedin

This post has been filed in: Health and Safety Policy, Health and Safety Regulations, Health and Safety Services, Health and Safety Training, Workplace Safety

One Comment

  1. February 21, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    A young man aged just 23 years old lost his life while working for the construction firm JN Bentley Ltd. Steven Allen was on site helping to move approximately 30 bags of cement while the company were carrying out a construction job for Bradford Council..

    A very sad news, and just one of many work accident taking place nowadays, I think that there should be more controlls and firms should fully apply their health and safety procedures in order to prevent such as bad accidents from happening.

Follow all of the latest Veritas Consulting news on our RSS feed

Twitter: Veritas_Tweets

Shares