Fredric March, aged 52 and from Croydon, was working at a site in Galton Way, Swindon on 10th June 2011. A piece of timber was being pushed into place by an excavator to act as a cushion on the ends of sewer pipes that were being laid. The timber snapped and struck Mr March on the head. He dies six weeks later from his injuries.
In a prosecution brought by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Swindon Crown Court heard that Cappagh had employed three workmen to lay iron sewerage pipes in a trench. They used an excavator bucket to push pipe sections together and pieces of timber to work around obstructions. It was an inherently dangerous method that they had come up with themselves in the absence of their employer giving them any guidance or safer alternative working method.
Cappagh Contractors Construction (London) Ltd of Waterside Way, Wimbledon, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. It was fined £130,000 and ordered to pay £70,000 in costs.
HSE inspector Sue Adsett said after the hearing: “This tragic loss of life could have been avoided if Cappagh had taken proper measures before the work started and planned the task properly.
“Pipe laying companies must have safe systems of work and ensure their workers don’t have to improvise safety measures.
“Employers have a duty to carry out thorough risk assessments and provide safe ways of working. Including the workforce in designing safe methods also makes it less likely that they will improvise when problems arise.”
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