Two companies and an individual prosecuted following death of worker in trench collapse

In June 2020 whilst working on replacing a damaged pipe in a deep trench, the trench unexpectedly collapsed which led to an employee being buried under two tonnes of soil. Investigations found that there were no supports in the trench and excavated soil had been deposited next to the trench.

A self-employed contracts manager working on site was aware of the measures required when working in a trench but allowed the work, and previous work to go ahead.

The principal contractor, contractor and self-employed contracts manager were all prosecuted for health and safety offences. The two companies were convicted under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA), the principal contractor was fined £500,000 and the contractor £650,000. The self-employed contracts manager was convicted under section 7 HSWA (general duties of employees at work) and was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work.

For the latest safety and compliance updates, visit our hub here.