26.02.2009

HSE to prosecute Harringtons

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said that it will be prosecuting PC Harrington Contractors for alleged breaches of health and safety law following the investigation into a fatal lifting accident during the construction of Wembley Stadium in 2004.

On Thursday 15 January 2004 a platform/staging became dislodged after it was struck by a crane during a lifting operation causing it to fall around 30 metres hitting two men along the way. The falling material killed Patrick O’Sullivan, 54, from Cork, while injuring another. Both men were working on the building of the concrete superstructure of the stadium at the time.

Harringtons, of Southall, Middlesex, was the employer of both men and faces two charges in respect of alleged breaches of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 and regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).

The case is due be heard before City of London Magistrates’ Court, 1 Queen Victoria St London, EC4 on 10 March 2009 at 14.00.
See report on the day

Vertikal Comment

Yet another case of speedy justice, over five years after the accident it is finally coming to court. How can that possibly be justified?

If the aim is to improve safety why not bring such cases to court rapidly? Then all of the lessons that can be learnt are learnt sooner and might help save lives. What happens is the HSE sits on these cases until the last minute then says it will prosecute.

A change in the law has helped ensure that HSE in investigations evidence is gathered in secret and kept as confidential as possible, in order to give it the best chance in our adversarial legal system of gaining a conviction.

Two things come from this though

1.This is not the best way to improve safety and cut accidents and
2.Even in this situation why wait so long to decide to prosecute?

If the highest echelons of the HSE had more gumption and behaved less like members of 'the establishment', they would be a lot more verbal in fighting for any legal changes that might be required to change the current sluggish system and help bring accident levels down more quickly.