Legal News

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a contractor for failing to maintain a safe place of work, after an employee was struck by a bus while laying a pipe under a road surface.

On 14 May 2014, Rebeck Communications Limited was employed to lay a pipe across the full width of a road at Station Road, Long Bucky in Northamptonshire.

It is normal practice to impose a maintained 0.5m safety zone as a restricted area when undertaking this kind of work. However, the 0.5m safety zone was not being maintained and no other control measures were in place at the time of the incident.

The Health and Safety Executive investigation found the road was 4.8m wide and was classified as narrow lanes – and it was possible the worker had to manoeuvre into the live traffic lane briefly to position some equipment as the bus was passing.

The contractor had decided that a temporary traffic management system would be used and this allowed one lane to be closed, while still allowing traffic to pass on the other remaining traffic lane. However, in theory this system is self-managed by the drivers using the road.

During the reinstatement of the road surface at the centre point of the road, a worker was struck by a bus, causing serious injuries – including a dislocated knee and severe ligament and muscle damage.

On Tuesday (05/01/16), at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, Rebeck Communications Limited of Eagle House, Billing Road in Northampton pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 26(2) of the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2007.

The company was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £1,293.

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