Operative wins £1.4m after CTRL accident

An operative has won a record £1.4m compensation payment after losing an arm and a leg while working on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) nearly three years ago.

Shane Holiday, 39, was working for the Eurolink jv, which at the time comprised Miller Civil Engineering, Dumez GTM and Beton und Monierbau, on the CTRL North Downs Tunnel Contract 410 in Maidstone, Kent, on 26 November 1999, when a roof collapsed and he was crushed by a 2.5t boulder.

Holiday finally received the money 15 days ago after an out of court settlement, 14 months after moving into a specially adapted home in Doncaster with his wife and 19-year-old son.

Speaking exclusively to CJ, Holiday said: "I was working in a tunnel with about eight other guys attaching mesh to the roof and spraying concrete over it, when this rock landed on me from behind.

"It left my left leg severed at the hip, my right foot was taken off, while my right arm was also torn off just below the elbow.

"I will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life, but I just view it as one of those things. As far as I could see there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it," he said.

Bob Blackman, national secretary of the TGWU, said: "The award may appear significant, it is certainly the largest I have ever heard of, but no amount of money can compensate for the injuries suffered. It will just ensure that Shane can enjoy a better quality of life."

Blackman added that the incident was a one of those tragic accidents which any company is powerless to prevent.

"It should be made clear that no blame is attached to the contractor whatsoever," said Blackman. "The Health & Safety Executive ruled that the work was being carried out using methods it had already approved.

"And it was not as if the accident was a result of a fall from height or an incident involving heavy machinery which could have been prevented. It was an unfortunate accident."

Construction Confederation public affairs director Martin Hughes added: "We have a strategy of zero tolerance when it comes to health and safety in an attempt to eradicate accidents such as these."

Miller's civil engineering arm was bought last year by Morgan Sindall. Chief executive John Morgan told CJ he was unaware of the case. No one at the Miller Group was available for comment as CJ went to press.