Dangerous Excavations

A London-based property company has been fined £2,800 after ignoring Notices issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

An inspection found a risk that an excavation would collapse and the company were ordered to stop work on the site and improve the planning, managing and monitoring of the operation. The orders were ignored, and it was revealed that this is not the first time this company had endangered its workers by failing to comply with HSE notices.

The HSE remind us that; “Every year people are seriously injured or killed while working in excavations, many due to trench collapses or falling materials. Fortunately in this instance, work was stopped before anyone was hurt.”

As you will know from this blog, despite the very many health and safety laws and regulations, these can sometimes be breached which unecessarily endangers workers.

In this case the company were found to have breached regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 which states: The principal contractor for a project shall plan, manage and monitor the construction phase in a way which ensures that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is carried out without risks to health or safety, including facilitating (i)co-operation and co-ordination between persons concerned in the project in pursuance of regulations 5 and 6, and (ii)the application of the general principles of prevention in pursuance of regulation.

If you have been injured at work please contact Gregory Abrams Davidson Solicitors for advice.