Maidstone Crown Court heard that Kent County Council appointed Enterprise (AOL) Ltd to replace an old, damaged, brick culvert under Tudely Lane, Tonbridge. Enterprise in turn subcontracted most of the work to Topbond plc.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) told the court that on 27th January 2012 water was being pumped out of the work area when three workers, including 63-year-old Michael Skitt, entered the area between two culverts to clear a channel for the remaining water to flow toward the pump head. They had begun to clear loose material, but had not started digging.
Shortly after they entered the area, the old brick culvert collapsed. One man jumped clear, another was hit but managed to escape, but Michael Skitt was trapped and injured. He suffered multiple injuries including shoulder blade breaks, an open shin break and a dislocated knee.
HSE said the stability of the structure was not assessed adequately, nor was sufficient planning undertaken to ensure adequate control measures were in place.
Its investigation found that the old culvert was originally going to be totally demolished early in the work. When the plan changed, the implications of uncovering half of the damaged culvert and therefore loading it unevenly and undermining it were not managed.
Although culvert repair/replacement is a relatively unusual construction job, the collapse of excavations and structures is common and the court heard the defendants in the case were made aware of the potential of collapse by the original designers/engineers several times.
Enterprise (AOL) Ltd of the Sherard Building, Edmund Halley Road, Oxford admitted breaches of section 22 (1) and 28 (1) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007. It was fined a total of £90,000 and ordered to pay an additional £22,876 costs.
Construction firm Topbond PLC, of Oyster Quay, Castle Road, Sittingbourne, Kent admitted breaches of section 13 (1) and 28 (1) of the same regulations. It was fined £70,000 and was also ordered to pay £22,876.60 costs.
After the case, HSE inspector Nicola Wellard said: “This is a sad case that has changed at least one man’s life for ever. The culvert was being replaced because it had been damaged previously.
“Just this one piece of information should have been enough to ensure both contractors assessed the stability of the culvert throughout the work and took appropriate measures to ensure people were protected from the risk of collapse. These risks are well known and the fact that the two other men escaped without serious injury was just pure luck, this could easily have been a multiple fatality.”
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