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Contractor and structural engineers charged over Liverpool crane incident 

Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Bingham Davis Ltd are to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court charged with offences under the HSW Act 1974. The companies are being prosecuted by HSE following the collapse of a tower crane in Liverpool during July 2009.

The crane operator, Ian Gillham, was injured leaving him paralysed from the waist down. The crane was being used on a new hotel and apartments project at Kings Dock Mill.

Derbyshire-based Bowmer and Kirkland has been charged with breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Bingham Davis based on Deansgate, Manchester, has been charged with breaching Section 3(1) of the Act.

The crane landed on a partially constructed apartment block and over 100 people were moved from their homes. The impact made two internal stairways impassable trapping residents who fled to balconies awaiting rescue.

A case management hearing is due to take place at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on May 19.

This article was posted on 21st April 2011 in ALL LATEST NEWS, CRANES TOWER, PROSECUTIONS, collapse structure.
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