A construction company has been fined after an employee was struck by the placing boom of a concrete pump, causing serious injuries.
Brighton Magistrates Court heard how in March 2019 concrete footings were being poured at a site in East Sussex. Due to the soft ground, vehicles could not get close to the work, so a concrete pump with a 52-metre boom was used.
During the pour, the ground beneath one of the pump outriggers collapsed, causing the concrete pipe and boom to strike the employee, dislocating and fracturing his hip, fracturing his spine and tearing ligaments and muscles. He was also later diagnosed with a brain injury and is still undergoing regular physiotherapy, and suffering from post-traumatic stress, but does not know the long-term effects of the brain and nerve damage.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work had not been properly planned, managed or monitored. Some work had been done to stabilise the ground in the area where the pump was set up, but no checks had been made as to the load the ground could sustain, and no consideration had been given to the size or type of spreader plates that would be required to support the vehicle outriggers.
Axio (Special Works) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations SI 2015/51, were fined £20,000, plus a victim surcharge of £170, and costs of £5,285.70.
The HSE inspector, Stephen Green said: "The employees' injuries are life-changing and he could have easily been killed. This serious incident and devastation could have been avoided if basic safeguards had been put in place".
