A London building firm has been ordered to pay out nearly £90k after four workers were injured in a house collapse in which it was ‘lucky’ no one was killed.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors said two workers sustained ‘life-changing’ injuries when the first floor of the house collapsed and took them down with it.
Two more workers at ground level were injured by falling concrete during the remedial building works at the new house in Hampstead, northwest London.
An HSE investigation found London building firm Aryn Stones Ltd, based in Shepherd’s Bush, had failed to ensure the structure didn’t collapse whilst in a state of temporary weakness.
The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £39,000 costs following a two-day trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
The court heard Aryn Stones Ltd had been contracted to build a new domestic property in Hampstead.
On 31 May 2022, remedial works were being carried out on a partially built beam-and-block floor when it collapsed, taking two workers down with it.
The two men, a 62-year-old welder and a 31-year-old bricklayer, both sustained life-changing injuries, whilst two other men who were standing at ground level were injured by falling concrete.
Work on the house had begun in March 2021, but by February the following year, engineers who inspected the property identified errors with the connections of the structural steel beams.
This prompted the remedial works that led the structure to collapse.
The court was told the collapse occurred when the welder used an oxyacetylene torch to cut a steel beam supporting the first floor.
However, at the same time, another worker had been removing some Acrow props that were supporting the beam.
An HSE investigation, led by inspector Alexander McIlwraith, found Aryn Stones Ltd had failed to ensure the structure did not collapse while it was in a state of temporary weakness.
The court heard the company also failed to put any measures in place to manage the temporary remedial work being carried out on the steel connections, and failed to take all practicable steps to prevent danger to any person while the building was in a temporary state of weakness.
Aryn Stones Ltd, of Percy Road, London were found guilty of breaching Regulation 19(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. They were fined £50,000, as well as being ordered to pay £39,000 in costs.
HSE inspector Lucy Ellison-Dunn, however, said it was ‘lucky’ no one had been killed in the ‘avoidable’ incident The company should have taken precautions to protect people from the risk of collapse,” she said.
“Although two men were seriously injured, it was lucky nobody was killed.
“This was a completely avoidable incident had a system for the management of temporary works been in place.
“Everyone working in construction has a responsibility to ensure that everyone on a building site is safe.”
