Cosmos Builders 88 Ltd of Waltham Forest, London, has been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs after pleading guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations and a separate breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.
The prosecution came after a worker suffered multiple leg fractures in a fall when a newly-built first floor collapsed under the weight of concrete blocks weighing 1.6tonnes.
The 48 year-old casual labourer fell 3m to the ground at the site in Tottenham, on 14 September 2012, with the concrete blocks falling all around him.
He sustained serious breaks in the lower leg bones and needed a major operation and a skin graft. He still cannot walk properly and is unable to return to work.
A colleague at ground level narrowly escaped being hit.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated the incident, found Cosmos Builders 88 Ltd had allowed the load capacity of the floor to be exceeded by seven times.
HSE prosecuted the building firm at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 30 October after finding a series of flaws in the construction work and numerous risks of falling from height faced by workers at the site.
The court heard that instead of laying three courses of blocks on to joist hangers, the first floor had been loaded with two piles, each of 88 concrete blocks, weighing 1.6tonnes. With the labourer piling up the blocks on the first floor without the vital strengthening block work, the collapse was inevitable, the court was told.
Cosmos Builders was aware of the correct construction method, as eight previous houses on site had been properly completed.
HSE inspectors also found poor management had led to builders being put in unnecessary danger by being told to work at height in areas where there were no safety measures in place. When questioned at the time, the company said it wanted to keep the workers busy while waiting for scaffolders to arrive.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Keith Levart said: “Both offences were caused because the Cosmos Builders instructed workers to undertake tasks that they knew to be unsafe, but were unwilling to halt the work.“In terms of the collapse, the firm cut corners by not carrying out the first floor work to the accepted standard and then allowed it to become grossly overloaded. As a result, a casual labourer has suffered an injury that may prevent him from returning to manual employment for a considerable time.
“Cosmos Builders 88 Ltd did not pay enough attention to the tasks being undertaken and failed to fully appreciate the risks involved. It is hugely important that if something alters on site, such as materials being late, managers must take the responsibility to re-assess the risks and make sure there are no unintended – and possibly fatal – consequences.”
In London last year (2012/13), provisional statistics show eight deaths were recorded in the construction sector, more than in any other region. The year before had seen five deaths and nearly 500 major injuries.