A developer and a contractor from North London have been ordered to pay £275,000 after a Polish construction worker was left permanently disabled after a concrete slab fell on him. The incident took place on 16 March 2005 at a building site by the North Circular Road in Brent, North London.
A warehouse was being built by local developer Gargreen using their associated contractor Euro's. Workers were moving a two-ton concrete slab into position by rolling it across a mezzanine floor on metal tubes. The slab became jammed while it was being placed on the steel frame of the floor. Pawel Szczotka and a colleague went under the slab in order to push it up into position on the frame using a prop. As Szczotka attempted to jack up the slab, it fell on him.
Szczotka suffered major crush and fracture injuries to his pelvis and legs. More than two years on he is still severely disabled and may never be able to work again. He came to Britain just weeks before the accident as a migrant worker and despite having no previous training or experience was employed on the construction site in question. He was paid cash in hand and not provided with any training.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector Simon Hester said, "The working methods that were used in this case were not acceptable. Companies must ensure safe systems of work are in place to prevent this type of incident and to ensure that this does not happen again. This case also highlights the risks that migrant workers can be exposed to when unaware of employers' health and safety responsibilities and their own rights."
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