Contractor Beighton fined after Sheffield earthmoving death

Chesterfield contractor TG Beighton has had to fork out almost £50,000 after the HSE brought health and safety charges against the company following a fatal accident on a Sheffield earthmoving job.

On 13 July 2004, Beighton was working as the principal contractor building 11 industrial units on a brownfield site in Sheffield. During the course of this work a tank was being installed and the excavation collapsed.

Two employees of the company men were crushed in the collapse. John Morton sustained fatal injuries whilst his colleague, Daniel Thompson, sustained serious crush injuries from which he recovered. The area of the excavation in which the men were working was approximately three metres deep and had no precautions in place to prevent the sides from collapsing.

Following a joint investigation by the Police and the HSE a manslaughter charge was brought against one of the site foremen, Mark Winter of Chesterfield, while health and safety charges were brought against the company, its health and safety director, Richard Palmer, and Mark Winter.

Following a six day trial at Sheffield Crown Court, Mark Winter was found not guilty of manslaughter, while fines of £35,000, £2,500 and £750, plus costs of £10,000, £1,000 and £150, were imposed respectively against T G Beighton, Richard Palmer and Mark Winter for the health and safety charges to which they pleaded guilty.

The HSE inspector who investigated the accident, Dave Bradley, said: “This tragic incident was entirely preventable. The precautions to be taken at excavations are well known in the construction industry. 

“Each job needs to be properly planned to ensure that the appropriate controls are identified and provided on site, and thereafter, they are communicated to the persons undertaking the work. “