A firm has been fined £1.6million after a ‘happy-go-lucky’ man was crushed to death in a ‘wholly avoidable’ industrial accident.
Jack Phillips was killed when heavy temporary platform sections fell on him from a lorry-mounted crane.
This happened after an out-of-date lifting sling being used to carry the load snapped, a court was told.
A probe by the the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd failed to properly plan the lifting of the platform at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Mr Phillips’ parents said they were ‘devastated’ they would never get to see the only son get married, raise a family or grow old.
They added: ”Our child, our only son, is dead. Our life, our family’s life has now changed forever.’
After admitting to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd were fined £1.6million at Brighton Magistrates Court.
The court heard that in the summer of 2019, Jack had been assisting whilst temporary Mast Climber Work Platform sections were being lifted by a lorry-mounted crane with an out-of-date lifting sling.
The sling snapped, causing the heavy load to fall on top of Jack.
A subsequent investigation by the HSE and Sussex Police found Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd – trading as Lyndon SGB – failed to properly plan the lifting operation.
The company, who provide temporary access equipment, failed to identify safe exclusion zones and also failed to have a suitable robust system in place to ensure all accessories had been thoroughly examined or disposed of when expired, resulting in the worn slings being used.
HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said the incident, and Mr Phillips’ death, could ‘easily’ have been prevented if his employer had properly managed the risks of the operation.
‘This tragic incident led to the wholly avoidable death of a young man,’ he said.
‘This death could so easily have been prevented if Jack’s employer had fulfilled its statutory duty to plan and manage the risks associated with lifting equipment and lifting operations.
‘Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd failed in its duty of care to all its operatives, including Jack, in the way it planned and implemented the lifting operations and the slack customs and practices it allowed to become part of the safety culture with regard to lifting.’
In a statement, the heartbroken parents said their lives would never be complete following the tragic death.
‘How do you put into words the utter devastation you feel?’ they said. ‘Our child, our only son, is dead. Our life, our family’s life has now changed forever.
‘We are no longer complete without Jack, we will never see our baby boy, the boy we nurtured and helped grow into a young man, get married, raise a family, or grow old.
‘His sisters will never have the honour of him being an uncle to their children. We will never have the honour of seeing or meeting his children.
‘Jack was a happy-go-lucky ‘Jack the lad’. Everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him loved him.’
Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, of Leatherhead in Surrey, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £1,600,000 and ordered to pay additional costs of £23,193.60.
A subsequent investigation by the HSE and Sussex Police found Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd – trading as Lyndon SGB – failed to properly plan the lifting operation.