HSE announces tougher penalties
October 24, 2008
In the week in which it was announced that there would be tougher penalties for those breaking health and safety rules, the HSE has decided not to prosecute anyone involved in a fatal accident earlier this year.
A worker died after a luffing jib tower crane collapsed on a Liverpool construction site on 15 January. Following a 16-month inquiry by the HSE and Merseyside Police, the safety body concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring proceedings against any of the parties involved. These included the crane manufacturer, the crane hirer, the principal contractor, the sub-contractor and the crane driver.
The crane collapsed when the slew ring bolts failed and the slew ring fractured, allowing the main crane assembly to fall from its tower and land upside down on top of the building being constructed. Zbigniew Swirzynski, a Polish site worker, was killed and the crane driver was injured.
George Guy, regional secretary for construction union UCATT's North West region, described the decision as a kick in the teeth for construction workers.
"How on earth can they have any confidence in health and safety provisions on sites", he asked, "if the powers that be can't find anyone to prosecute in such a high profile incident?"
UCATT supports a national register of tower cranes, many of which are over 30 years old, in order to ensure that they are in good condition and are regularly maintained. In April, the Select Committee for Work and Pensions backed the call for a national register but the Government rejected the proposal due to the difficulty of maintaining such a register due to the cranes' mobility.
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, which received Royal Assent on 16 October, raises the maximum fine that can be imposed in the lower courts for a breach of health and safety law from £5000 to £20,000. The Act, which is enforceable from January 2009, will also mean a broadening of the range of offences for which individuals can be imprisoned.
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