04/11/2015
Quinn Building Products Ltd recently admitted two charges of breaching health and safety at a factory which led to the death of Brian Og Maguire in 2012. As a result the Omagh Crown Court a judge imposed a £50,000 fine in respect of each charge plus £7,712 costs on the company.
Health and Safety Breaches
The victim, who played football for the Fermanagh county team, was tensioning some steel rope in preparation for the manufacture of pre-cast cement slabs when the rope snapped and struck him, causing his death.
A subsequent investigation by the HSE found that the wedge segments which gripped the steal rope showed signs of wear and tear. The cable had snapped in the past but no record had been kept of the incident and the company had no proper cleaning regime or a procedure for replacing worn equipment.
Louis Burns, an inspector with Health and Safety Executive, said: "Whilst the steel rope behaved in a somewhat unexpected manner when it came adrift, it is clear that the company had not implemented a robust system to manage, inspect and maintain safety critical equipment in this high risk industry.
The company has since implemented significant changes to its health and safety practices to ensure such an incident never happens again.
Fisher Scoggins Waters are a London based law firm who are experts in construction, manufacturing and engineering matters. If you have recently had a health and safety incident occur in your workplace, please phone us on 0207 993 6960 and let us help you get control of the situation now.