Firms fined £38k after glass panel breaks worker's pelvis

Brookfield Construction UK (formerly Multiplex Construction UK) and Scheldebouw have been fined a total of £38,000 after a worker broke his pelvis when a panel of glass fell on him.

The accident occurred while subcontractor Scheldebouw UK was removing glass panels from the roof of the site in Manresa Road, Kensington, London.

Multiplex was the main contractor on the site, where it was building 15 luxury apartments as part of the conversion of the Victorian King's College building for developers Candy & Candy.

Both Multiplex and Scheldebouw pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety regulations after the March 2006 accident which saw lorry driver John Rooney injured when the 600kg panel landed on him.

Rooney was standing on the back of his lorry, waiting for a scaffold stillage to be lowered on to his lorry. But he crossed onto an adjoining lorry owned by a different contractor, which was transporting the glass panels from the site, to help while the glass was lowered.

The lorries were close together and there was a significant camber in the road, which meant the bed of the lorry transporting the panels was not level and was tilting towards the pavement.

An A-frame stillage containing three glass panels was lowered on to the adjacent lorry. One of the glass panels fell onto Rooney, causing his injuries.

Lisa Chappell, HSE inspector said: "This incident once again highlights the need for contractors to ensure that all aspects of lifting and removal operations are fully planned and measures to work safely are clearly communicated to all workers. Had these simple steps been taken, the injuries to Mr Rooney could have been avoided."

Scheldebouw UK, of 26 Mastmaker Road, Isle of Dogs, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000. Brookfield Construction UK of 40 Berkeley Square, London, was fined £18,000 with costs of £9,962.