Jersey Unreported Judgments

 2002/37

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

8^th February 2002

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

BRB Excavations, Limited

 

 

1 count of:

Contravening Article 21(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989 by failing, as employers, to ensure provision of a safe system of work for two employees.

 

 

Plea:    Facts admitted.

 

Details of Offence:

The defendant company was employed to undertake certain demolition works at a property including the removal of wooden roof beams (save the end section of these beams which provided support to the rafters of the roof).  Part of the external structural wall of the property was removed upon the advice of a structural engineer which resulted in three of the wooden roof beams being supported by acrow props.  In order to reduce the weight on these temporary supports and to avoid the problem of "updraft" (wind lifting the roof) the consulting engineer recommended that the roof be stripped of its tiles.  Some of the roof slates were removed by an independent contractor but they were not actually taken from the roof.  Whilst this addressed the problem of the updraft the weight of the roof remained the same.  Several of the beams were removed without incident (as the rafters which these beams supported continued to be supported by the external structural wall of the property) leaving three beams supported by acrow bars (the external wall on one side of the property having been removed).  An employee of BRB, (who was foreman with regard to ground works for the project, but who had limited experience of demolition type work),  attempted to remove the central of three beams which remained by cutting through the beam with a chain saw.  The central beam was supported by only one acrow prop (a second acrow prop had been removed earlier in order to permit the construction  of some interior walls).  The ground foreman cut through the central beam from above by standing on an interior breeze block wall and immediately thereafter the roof collapsed.  The ground works foreman jumped to the ground, a distance of 2.5 metres, and suffered a jarring injury to the knee causing possible cartilage damage, was off work for four days but made a full recovery. A person assisting the ground works foreman was struck by two rafters, but sustained only minor grazing, bruising, and swelling injuries.  He was off work for approximately

 2 weeks, but otherwise made a full recovery.

Aggravating Factor

In July (2 months prior to the incident) the Health and Safety Inspectorate had occasion to investigate damage caused to the incoming electrical supply at the property when an employee of BRB had attempted to remove the supply from the wall with a pick axe.  BRB failed to ensure that the electrical supply had been made safe (i.e. disconnected) prior to the commencement of the demolition works and improvement notices were served on both BRB and the corporate developer of the site.  In addition the Health and Safety Inspectorate identified omissions in the company's written health and safety policy (required to be produced pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Law) and identified that the written policy required significant revision.

 

Details of Mitigation:

Prompt and immediate admission of responsibility by company immediately after the accident.  Full and frank statement made by the director of the company.  Company admitted infractions at the first instance, although the company had previous convictions, these related to motor traffic offences arising from a single incident.  No offences of a similar nature.  Effectively can be treated as a first offender.  Company embarrassed by this lapse in its otherwise extremely good safety record.  The beneficial owner of the company having had a clean health and safety record since 1982.  This is not a case of a company intentionally cutting corners in order to make money.  Employee was careful in cutting the beam.  Injuries received by employees fortunately were not serious.  The company accepted that the injuries could have been far more serious (submission by defence counsel that court to sentence on the basis of what the consequences were rather than what might have occurred).

 

Previous Convictions:

No previous convictions for health and safety related matters, treated as a first offender.

 

Conclusions:

£8,000 fine with £2,500 costs.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

£10,000 fine with £2,500 costs maximum.

 

 

 

P. Matthews, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate P.D. James for the Defendant.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

THE BAILIFF:

1.        The defendant company has admitted an infraction of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989 by failing to ensure a safe system of work for its employees.  It is fortunate but fortuitous that grave injury was not caused to the employees by the collapse of the roof at the building where they were working.  It is an aggravating feature that an improvement notice was issued by the Health and Safety Inspectorate some two months before this incident in relation to other matters on the same site.

2.        On the other side of the coin we accept everything that Mr. James has eloquently said on behalf of the defendant company which has, until now, enjoyed a good safety record in the sense that no convictions have been recorded against it.  There was an immediate admission of responsibility and frank admissions by the director to the investigating officers.  The defendant company is entitled to credit for those mitigating factors.

3.        Nevertheless we think that the conclusions are too low.  Fines for offences which endanger the lives and futures of employees should sting, both to punish the offending and to encourage others to take the necessary time and to invest the necessary resources in ensuring safe systems of work.  We accordingly fine the defendant company the sum of £10,000 and we order it to pay the costs of the prosecution not exceeding £2,500.

 

Authorities

AG-v-Riviera Guest House Ltd (1^st November, 1991) Jersey Unreported.

AG-v-H & V Building Services Ltd (7^th April, 2000) Jersey Unreported; [2000/58].

AG-v-Stansell QVC Ltd (15^th October, 1999) Jersey Unreported; [1999/176].