Excavator driver fined over pedestrian's death

Jocelyn Dorrell | Prosecutions and Claims |
28.10.2008

The HSE has successfully prosecuted an excavator driver over the death of an 81-year-old pedestrian.

In February 2007, Colin Clifford was operating an excavator in a fenced-off area outside a house in Maida Vale, west London. As he turned the vehicle, he raised the excavator's bucket - which contained a number of other buckets - over the site fence so it was suspended above the unprotected public pavement beyond.

While the bucket was hanging over the pavement, Clifford accidentally used the wrong lever and the load fell to the pavement. At least one of the buckets hit Joseph Johnston who was walking past, and he died shortly afterwards.

An HSE investigation revealed that Clifford had enough space to turn the excavator round without lifting the front bucket over the pavement. Even if he'd needed to lift the excavator bucket over the fence, there were other workers who could have helped by closing off the pavement.

On 24 October at the Old Bailey, Clifford admitted breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires workers to take reasonable care for their own and others' safety. He was fined £2500 and ordered to pay £1500 costs.