A crane hire firm has been fined more than £400,000 after a worker was crushed at a housing development in Aberdeen.
Dominik Mielniczek suffered life-changing injuries when a “grossly overloaded” timber safety deck collapsed on top of him at the Cove building site.
Inverness-based Global Port Services – which is part of Global Energy Group – pleaded guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to a charge of failing to ensure that a lifting operation was carried out in a safe manner.
The incident – which occurred at a Stewart Milne housing development in the Charleston area of Cove – caused Mr Mielniczek numerous bone fractures and nerve damage.
Fiscal depute Gavin Callaghan told the court that at around 8am on April 9 2018, employees of contract firm Glenmoir Construction, including Mr Mielniczek, began work at the site.
He stated that a quantity of timber was set down on a stud wall and the Trad Decking System.
The weight of the timber was more than four times what the Trad Decking System could accommodate, causing it to partially collapse on Mr Mielniczek who was working underneath.
He was crushed and suffered a number of fractures, including to his femur and thigh bones, resulting in his severe injury, permanent impairment and permanent disfigurement.
As a result of his injuries, Mr Mielniczek needed a number of surgeries and was in a wheelchair for six weeks.
A subsequent HSE investigation found that the Trad Decking System that Mr Mielniczek was working under “did not have significant load bearing capacity” and was “grossly overloaded”.
Work ‘should have just stopped’
Defence solicitor for Global Port Services, Grant Markie, told the court that the firm had “expressed its regret that this accident occurred”.
“Health and safety is something that the company takes very seriously,” Mr Markie said.
“The company recognises that the injuries Mr Mielniczek sustained were serious.
“This was a matter that the company that the company wanted to admit responsibility for at the earliest opportunity.”
Mr Markie said that there had been an “absence of planning by the company with respect to this particular job” and an “absence of tradesmen to help with the lift”.
“With the benefit of hindsight, the company should have just stopped the job until these matters were addressed,” he added.
Sentencing the firm, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin described it as a “complex matter” but one which saw “broad agreement” between the Crown and the defence.
She said that she accepted the assessment of capability and harm that had been proposed by both sides, adding that the “level of harm to other people” was also significant that day.
“However, there is significant mitigation in this case and there are no aggravating factors,” Sheriff McLaughlin added.
“I take on board the exemplary safety record of this company.”
Sheriff McLaughlin fined Global Port Services, who are headquartered at Henderson Road, Inverness, a total of £430,000.
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