£9,000 fine for London Basement Company

The London Basement Company was fined a total of £9,000 and ordered to pay £2,701 costs at City of London Magistrates Court today for breaches of health and safety legislation.

A worker suffered serious pelvic injuries when clay fell on him during excavation work to create a basement beneath an existing building on a site in Hewer Street, London in December 2003.

Surrey-based London Basement pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996:

• Failure to prevent a worker becoming trapped by a fall of material.
• Failure to keep records of the excavation inspections.
• Failure to provide adequate washing facilities.

The magistrate also instructed that the maximum compensation award of £5,000 be paid to the injured worker.