Director of construction company fined £12,500 following serious injuries to worker
The director of a county Down based construction company has been fined at Craigavon Crown Court after a worker sustained serious injuries.
Peter O’Hare, both a director and employee of Peter O’Hare Limited, pleaded guilty to a single health and safety offence and was today (July 8) fined a total of £12,500 after an investigation was led by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).
The court heard that on 12 November 2022, a male employee sustained serious crush injuries as a result of being struck by a reversing lorry driven by O’Hare. The employee was working alongside O’Hare to retrieve a forklift truck that had become stuck in uneven ground at the company’s premises.
Speaking after the hearing, Sophie Pearson, an Inspector with HSENI’s Major Investigation Team, said “This incident could so easily have been avoided. In relation to workplace transport activities, suitable workplace transport controls must be implemented, with adequate instruction, information, and effective communication in place at all times. HSENI will not hesitate to take enforcement action to ensure workplace transport risks are appropriately managed.”
The HSENI investigation determined that O’Hare failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons at work, and in particular, failed to ensure that others were in a place of safety as he reversed the lorry within the yard. Suitable and sufficient checks should and could have easily been carried out throughout the duration of the task to ensure that persons were in a place of safety.