Company fined after man dies at Derbyshire construction site

A prohibition notice banning work on the site was issued after the incident

A company has been fined £146,000 after a man died on a construction site in Derbyshire.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Philip Macdonald was helping build an overflow weir at Monk's Pond, near Ashbourne, on 5 September 2017.

The 48-year-old, from Alfreton, was crushed when a 20-tonne excavator flipped.

Birch Brothers (Kidderminster) Ltd - who appointed liquidators last year - must also pay court costs of £4,621.90.

The company, based at Sandy Lane Industrial Estate in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 27(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 during a hearing at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

'Easily preventable'

The HSE said Mr Macdonald was with colleagues on a road above the work area waiting for the excavator to remove sand from trench boxes when it rotated clockwise and crushed him.

After the incident a prohibition notice was issued banning work at the site, and an investigation found the work "had not been adequately planned, and no instruction had been given to the digger operator" or pedestrians in the area.

"The risks associated with the work had not been adequately assessed either, and there was no segregation of pedestrians and plant in this area of the site," the HSE said in a statement.

"The company had not appointed a banksman to ensure the safety of pedestrians while the vehicle was in operation and there was also nobody to oversee this element of the work to ensure it was carried out safely."

Inspector Katherine Cotton said: "This was a tragic incident that was easily preventable."