Balfour Beatty has been fined for breaching lifting safety rules after a worker fell from a scissor lift to his death.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Igor Malka, 62, fell from the machinery in January 2020, sustaining fatal injuries. At the time, Malka had been working at a Balfour Beatty site in Birmingham.
The firm received a £285,000 fine at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday (16 September), having pleaded guilty to breaching lifting safety regulations, the HSE said in a statement. The firm was also ordered to pay £21,769 in costs.
Malka and co-worker Edmund Vispulskis, both from Lithuania, were installing cladding at the University of Birmingham’s National Buried Infrastructure Facility when a nearby gantry crane toppled the scissor lift on which they stood, the HSE said. Operators were using the overhead travelling gantry crane to move hydraulic equipment for installation.
It added that both men fell about 10 metres to the ground. Malka died and Vispulskis sustained spine injuries and broken ribs, which left him in a neck brace for seven weeks and needing pins in his pelvis and thigh.
An HSE investigation found the fall could have been prevented had communication between the crane operators and cladding installers been better. The inspector ruled that Balfour Beatty had a duty to ensure communication between the contractors and noted that no lift supervisor was present when the accident took place.
Before Monday’s sentencing, Balfour Beatty had pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, which requires lifting operations to be properly planned, supervised and carried out.
A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: “It is with great sadness and deep regret that we look back on the tragic events of 7 January 2020 that led to the death of Igor Malka and the injuries sustained by Edmundas Vispulskis. Our heartfelt thoughts remain with Igor’s family, friends and colleagues.
“The health and safety of our workforce will always be our primary concern. This tragic event has prompted further improvement to our processes and we have shared the lessons we have learnt across our business.”
HSE inspector Gareth Langston said: “This was a tragic incident that led to the death of a worker with another being seriously injured and still experiencing difficulties today as a result.
“Lifting operations must be properly controlled – they must be planned, with plans adhered to.”
The sentencing comes shortly after a coroner called for operatives to be trained to rescue workers from mobile elevated platforms, in response to a separate fatal incident involving a scissor lift.
