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Two companies found liable for a construction accident at Heathrow Airport in 2005 have been ordered to pay more than £200,000 in fines and legal costs after one man was fatally injured and another suffered serious injuries to his back, leg and jaw.
The work accident occurred during the building of a multi-storey car park at Heathrow's Terminal 5. The court heard that the two construction workers were standing on a concrete slab which was secured as part of a temporary works structure using Threaded Shoring Adaptors (TSAs).
However, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) investigation revealed that the TSAs had failed causing the structure to collapse and the slab to fall. The workers dropped 17 metres to the level below.
The TSAs were found to be part of a batch of sub-standard items manufactured by SGB Services Ltd in 2003 and were part of a defective equipment recall programme. SGB Services Ltd were found to have failed to ensure the TSAs could safely carry maximum loads and had resupplied the substandard equipment to building sites in 2005, despite having recalled the items previously.
The HSE found that the main contractor at the construction site, Laing O'Rourke Infrastructure Ltd, did not have adequate inspection programmes in place to ensure the quality and condition of the TSAs before they were used in safety-critical applications and had not decommissioned sub-standard TSAs when warned they were defective.
Both companies admitted breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, whilst SGB Services Ltd further admitted breaching Section 6(1)(c) of the Act.
The companies may now also face more legal action in the form of civil lawsuits if the injured worker and the family of the deceased employee decide to sue for personal injury compensation as a result of the construction accident.
