22/10/2026
FSW Law successfully represented R Collard Ltd in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a fatal incident at a construction site in Slough in April 2023.
R Collard Ltd
R Collard Ltd specialises in demolition, site clearance and waste removal. At the Slough site, it was appointed as principal contractor to carry out site clearance, excavation and the remediation of contaminated land in preparation for development.
The incident occurred when a dumper truck reversing on site struck a pedestrian operative who sustained fatal injuries.
The company faced allegations under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 relating to its arrangements for managing pedestrian and vehicle movements on the site.
R Collard Ltd denied the charge. Following an eight-day trial at Reading Crown Court the jury acquitted the company.
The Case
The case followed a detailed three-year investigation and required consideration of workplace transport arrangements, interactions between pedestrians and plant, site management systems, contaminated-land remediation and expert evidence on the practical application of the CDM Regulations. It raised important questions about managing plant and pedestrian movements on dynamic construction sites and involved extensive factual and expert evidence.
Prosecution
A significant part of the prosecution case concerned measures introduced after the incident as a condition of the HSE permitting the site to reopen. These included the preparation of a drawing setting out the traffic management plan which the prosecution alleged should have been in place before the incident.
Defence
The defence argued that this requirement did not adequately reflect the dynamic nature of the site where traffic-management arrangements were kept under continual review as remediation progressed. It submitted that a safe system of work provided a safer and more practical alternative to a frequently revised drawing that would need to be repeatedly communicated to the workforce.
Measures required by the HSE after an incident are often relied upon as evidence of an earlier breach. This case demonstrated that such measures do not by themselves establish that a breach occurred.
R Collard Ltd was represented by Richard Crockford and Susan Cha of FSW Law.
FSW Law are a London based law firm who specialise in Health, Safety and Environmental Law. If you have recently had a health and safety incident occur in your workplace and require legal advice, please phone us on 0207 993 6960.