Brakes failure led to pair's building fall - inquest

Two faults on the platform meant its brakes would not work, an inquest was told

Two building workers who plunged to their death had a brakes failure on their work platform, an inquest has been told.

David Bottomley, 53, and his son Clayton, 17, died when the platform fell 14 storeys at the Unity Building in Liverpool in May 2021.

The inquest heard pinion shafts - two key parts of the platform - in both motors which moved it had cracked, meaning the brakes would not work.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Andrew Crouch told the inquest jury: "The pinion shaft in both gear boxes had fractured and failed and that was the principal finding [of the HSE investigation]."

Mr Crouch said the pinion shaft failures had separated both brakes from the platform's drive mechanism so the brakes would have had no effect.

He added the shafts must have failed at different times and it was impossible to say how long the first had failed before the second.

The inspector said although there was no specific explanation for the fracture, a metallurgist at the HSE had determined that it was due to "fatigue".

It was made in China and supplied by a company called Adastra.

Questioned by barrister Richard Copnall, representing the Bottomley family, Mr Crouch agreed that a manual issued by the supplier recommended carrying out a brake test at least every day as a minimum, and before every ascent.

Mr Crouch agreed such a test would have revealed that a brake had failed.

He concurred with Mr Copnall the platform did not have a legally required system which monitored how much power each motor was using - alerting the platform users to a problem.

"If this system is in place, this accident would not have happened?" asked Mr Copnall, to which Mr Crouch agreed.

The inquest continues.