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Excavation death results in fine

Published 06/12/2007

A firm has been fined following an incident in which two employees were injured, one of them fatally.

The accident occurred in July 2004 when two workers operating on a brownfield site in Sheffield were caught in an excavation collapse.

A tank was being installed at the time and the two colleagues, who were operating in a trench approximately three metres deep, sustained serious crush injuries.

While Daniel Thompson managed to recover, his co-worker John Morton did not.

Principal contractor on the site T G Beighton, an engineering, maintenance and design firm, was fined during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court.

Commenting on the case, Health and Safety Executive inspector Dave Bradley stated: "This tragic incident was entirely preventable. The precautions to be taken at excavations are well known in the construction industry."

Each individual job requires proper planning in order to ensure that the appropriate controls are identified and provided on the site, he added.

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