Companies Prosecuted Over Safety Failings

By Rob Dixon

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services and Enterprise (AOL) have been fined a total of £650,000 after a fatal road traffic collision at roadworks on the A50 near Uttoxeter.

Father-of-two William Collins from Stoke-on-Trent was killed when he collided with a stationary flatbed lorry owned by Enterprise (AOL) Ltd at the junction where the road meets the A522, which was closed as work was undertaken on overhead power lines and the central reservation.

According to an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, traffic management was unsuitable around the junction and there was little clarity that the road ahead was closed. It also found that neither company had properly ensured that the risks of the work were assessed.

Both companies were ordered to pay £225,000 each in fines, as well as costs of £100,000 each. They have both lodged an appeal against the conviction.

Sally Rissbrook, a legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in helping people who have suffered serious injuries in accidents in public places, said: “This is a terrible example where failures to properly assess risks have had disastrous consequences for a member of public.

“Companies involved in such work need to ensure they are doing everything possible to keep both their workers and the general public safe from harm.

“We sadly see too many occasions when failings like this lead to deaths or leave people with serious injuries from which they never fully recover. It is absolutely vital that companies involved in this kind of work take note of this case and ensure such problems are never repeated.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell’s expertise related to Accidents in Public Places claims