Director to pay £21,000 to fall victim's family

Prosecutions and Claims |
10.01.2008

A Derby judge has ordered a company director to pay £21,000 to the family of an employee who was killed falling from a high platform during renovation work.

SM Coldstores employee Nathan Savage died in November 2005 during overnight construction work at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Devonshire Walk, Derby. He fell from a "significant" height while working on the installation of a temporary mall to protect members of the public from the construction work.

Derby Crown Court heard that Savage, who had been hired by the company as a casual labourer, had little experience of working at height and that the firm's director, Steven Martin, had failed to supervise him properly. Savage had received no site induction.

HSE inspector David Gould told HSW it is unclear whether Savage fell from a tower scaffold or, more probably, the structure's roof. In either event, he explained, Martin had not made sure the tower scaffolds were erected properly - there were "various deficiencies in the edge protection" - and the roof of the structure was not a safe place of work.

"The employer himself had been setting a bad example by going onto this roof, which wasn't safe," noted Gould. "In all probability [Savage] went onto the roof following the employer's example and fell from the leading edge."
He added that SM Coldstores did not have compulsory employer's'liability insurance.

SM Coldstores of Sheldon, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to ensure the safety of its employees. Steven Martin pleaded guilty to the same offence under Section 37(1) of the Act, which says directors and managers will also be guilty of an offence if it is committed with their consent or connivance, or due to their neglect. In Martin's defence the court was told he had underestimated the risks facing Savage and that this was a one-off incident.

On 14 December, Martin was ordered to pay £21,000 compensation to Savage's widow and daughter.

Judge John Burgess said he had decided not to fine Martin for the offence or award prosecution costs against him in order to leave more assets for Savage's family to seek through a private prosecution.