A building contractor has been fined after a worker’s leg was seriously injured and later amputated above the knee following the collapse of a masonry wall.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on 26 June 2019, Sukhjit Singh was working at a domestic property refurbishment for Balwinder Singh Dhillon, trading as Dhillon Builders. Mr Singh, sustained serious injuries when an internal brick wall at first floor level collapsed and fell on him as he worked on the ground floor of the house.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mr Dhillon failed to properly plan the demolition of supporting walls within the property. He did not take all practicable steps to ensure a safe system of work and make sure the wall was adequately supported after it was made weak by the construction work.
Balwinder Singh Dhillon of Hayes, Middlesex pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 16(2) and 19(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulation 2015 and has been sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,818.20.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Fu Lee, said: “The injuries suffered are life changing and the incident could easily have been fatal. This serious incident and devastation could have been avoided if Mr Dhillon had planned a safe system of work and installed appropriate supports to prevent the building he was working on from collapse.”
Notes to Editors
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk
- More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk
- HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
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