Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited has been fined GBP 2.6 million after a 32-year-old subcontractor, working on behalf of the company, was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed on him, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported.
On 14 April 2010, the worker was laying ducting for a new cable for an offshore wind farm that was being built off the coast by Heysham, Lancashire. The trench was dug to a depth of 2.4 metres, without any shoring. The man was killed when he became trapped in the trench after it collapsed on him.
Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court on 5 May, after an investigation by the HSE, and was fined GBP 2.6million with GBP 54,000 costs.
The Court heard that the company failed to adequately risk assess the works or control the way in which the excavation took place.
HSE inspector Chris Hatton said after the hearing: “The level of this fine should serve as a warning to industry not to ignore health and safety matters.
“Balfour Beatty failed to adequately assess, plan and supervise the work being undertaken.”