Improper risk assessment leads to worker death in Dorset
Safety regulations exist in construction companies to avoid worker injury and death. Sadly, one building contractor did not follow health and safety protocols according to a recent court decision. A worker was killed when a wall being demolished by the contractor’s son fell. Do it Al was fined £10,000 along with £2,400 in costs for the death of the worker.
Both father and son were working on a barn demolition at Dunbury Farmhouse in 2008. The son was working on the wall when a piece fell and hit his father on the head. The HSE during health and safety audits found that neither father nor son were wearing hardhats during the demolition. The wall striking the father’s head led to the death of the 50-year-old man. The company is owned by Alaister Copland. The owner of the company did not have experience in demolition of this kind. This is one reason that the company should not have had the workers on site. It also meant that proper risk assessments were not carried out by the owner or the workers, including the father and son team. The death was tragic and it may not have happened if safety measures were in place.
At minimum, hard hats should have been worn by all workers and anyone else near the barn in the event of falling debris. The son will have to live with his father’s death. This will be very hard since he was working on the piece that struck his father.
