J Reddington fined £25k after worker suffers "terrible injuries"

Construction company J Reddington was fined £25,000 today (Thursday) after a worker suffered "terrible injuries" on a site in Richmond two years ago.

The Central Criminal Court in London heard that Warsame Yusaf was on an operation to move steel sheet piles with an excavator at the Kew Riverside site in Surrey on 9 August 2002 when the incident happened.  

Yusaf was attaching lifting slings to the sheet piles, but as he was guiding the excavator to the point where the load was to be lowered, one of two slings broke suddenly, causing the load to fall and strike him. 

Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Alec Ferguson, who investigated the incident, said: "Yusaf suffered terrible injuries as a result of this incident.

"The law requires the lifting and lowering of loads to be carried out in a safe manner. While the load was within the lifting capability of the slings, shackle and excavator, the method used of steadying the load - pushing the excavator bucket forward against the slings - caused damage to one of the slings and led to its failure. 

"There was neither protective packing nor protective sleeving at the point where the bucket met the sling to prevent wear to it. There are lessons to be learned from this incident for all who use lifting equipment."

J Reddington, of Enfield, Middlesex, had earlier pleaded guilty to one breach of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It was also ordered to pay £7,600 costs.