A property owner in Derby has been ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay over £4,000 in costs, following an incident which left a man blind in one eye.
The injured man from the Derbyshire Dales, suffered multiple broken bones, a fracture skull, and a bleed on the brain, among other injuries when a stone wall collapsed on him during the renovation of an outbuilding.
Significant alterations to the outbuilding had been undertaken, however no plan had been established for dismantling parts of the building safely or ensuring the stability of the building, due to a failure to appoint a competent structural engineer to the project. This failure exposed both workers and members of the public to a potentially fatal hazard.
Ultimately, the property owner plead guilty to a breach of The Construction (Design and Management) regulations 2015. A domestic client, being prosecuted for a breach of the CDM regulations is a relative rarity but this case acts as an acute reminder that the regulations don’t just apply to anyone undertaking a project,
not just businesses.
How could iSAFE have prevented this incident from happening?
Under the CDM Regs, the property owner would have assumed the role of CDM client regardless of whether this is a commercial or domestic project. A key duty of a CDM client is to assign key duty holders to the project i.e. principal designers and principal contractors to the project.
In this case, the property owner did not appoint a structural engineer (designer / principal designer) to the project to assess the stability of the wall (CDM regulation 19.1) and develop a suitable plan to safely demolish the wall (CDM regulation 20.1). By appointing a competent structural engineer, the collapse of the wall could have been mitigated and the incident may not have happened. However, even if it had happened the property owner would have fulfilled his duties under CDM and shifted liability for the incident.
CDM and the duties are generally not well understood, particularly by people who take on the role of CDM client and this is why iSAFE offer a CDM Advisor Service (for clients). With this service we provide support to individuals or companies who assume the role of CDM client and help them fulfil their duties for the duration of whatever construction project they are planning to undertake.
Improve your company’s Health and Safety.
If you are a business in Derby or elsewhere in Derbyshire looking for some health and safety support, Speak to the team at iSAFE for a free no obligation initial consultation. Get in touch today.
