Company fined £97k for bricklayer death

A Cheshire construction company has been prosecuted following a fatal accident in 2011 at a site in Wilmslow, and has been ordered to pay a fine of £97,500 and costs of £300,000.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Edgemere Projects of Tarporley, Cheshire, was the main contractor at a construction site in Wilmslow when on 7 January 2011, Andrew Dytiche sustained fatal crush injuries when a pack of bricks fell on him.

An Health & Safety Executive investigation found that the storage of materials was poorly organised and pallets used to store and move bricks around the site were also in poor condition.

Edgemere Projects pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) & 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £97,500 with £300,000 costs.

Neil Jamieson, HSE principal inspector, said: “This was a tragic accident which could have been prevented had the company ensured that materials on the site were stored and stacked safely.”

A statement from Edgemere Projects said: “We deeply regret this tragic accident. Words cannot express how sorry we are for the distress caused to Andrew’s family and friends.

“Edgemere takes health and safety very seriously. We must however accept the Judge’s findings, we failed to keep Andrew safe.

“This has been an incredibly long process for all involved, yet we hope that some good will come out of it. Lessons have been learned by Edgemere and we hope that these can be shared with the rest of the construction industry to avoid such a tragic accident happening again.

“Our thoughts however remain with Andrew’s family and friends.”