The Health & Safety Executive has disclosed that of the 332 fatal accidents involving construction workers between 2004/5 and 2008/9, only 154 (46%) led to a prosecution.
This was disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act by construction union Ucatt. The union is now calling for action to be taken to ensure that companies responsible for the death of a construction worker are brought to justice.
Ucatt general secretary Steve Murphy said: “These are truly shocking figures. It is bad enough that families have lost a loved one but the fact in the majority of cases no prosecution has ever been brought is shameful.”
Ucatt did not request figures for more recent recording years, as it typically takes three or four years for a case to come to court after a workplace fatality.
Previous research by the HSE has concluded that 70% of construction fatalities are wholly or partially attributable to management failures.
Mr Murphy added: “With regard to construction deaths we were already aware that it was a case of justice delayed. We can now see in the majority of cases it is in fact justice denied. Families who have lost a loved one deserve answers about why there are so few prosecutions.”
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