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Workman suffers serious injury as wall collapses in wind
K P Gardner Builders has been ordered to pay some £14k in fines and prosecutions costs after a workman fractured his spine and ribs when a wall collapsed on him at a construction site in Forest Gate, London in March 2009.
The injured man was working on the first floor of a partially-constructed block of flats.
A wall built the previous day, on the third floor, was not properly secured and a gust of wind caused the wall to collapse with concrete blocks falling over 7m onto the workman below.
Mr Lunnon fractured seven ribs, broke his back in four places, fractured his right hand and also suffered serious damage to his internal organs.
Contractor failed to plan, manage and monitor the work
The HSE investigation showed that Keith Gardner had failed to properly plan, manage and monitor work at the site.
Inspector Paul Hems said: “Mr Lunnon is lucky to be alive. This could have so easily been a much more serious incident.
“As the builder in charge of the project, Mr Gardner was responsible for ensuring the health and safety of everyone working at the site. This included ensuring the stability of walls during construction.
“Mr Gardner was made aware of the wind affecting the newly-built walls, but failed to take appropriate action to ensure their stability.
“The HSE investigation also found other safety failings at the site, including failure to properly manage risks of falling.
There was a comprehensive failure to implement key elements of the construction phase plan.”