£300,000 fine for company that failed surveyor
A surveyor was killed by a reversing lorry as he talked on his mobile phone, while he was working on the project to widen the M25 near Dartford.
It is thought he did not hear the lorry reversing up behind him as he was walking along the closed-off central reservation, and was hit by the eight-wheel vehicle. He died at the scene of the accident.
The subsequent Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the accident had been allowed to happen through a lack of basic safety procedures and that the movement of people and vehicles had not been sufficiently well-planned or managed.
The well-known construction company was prosecuted following the findings of the HSE and has been ordered to pay a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds as well as costs of £45,000.
The construction industry is recognised for presenting a higher risk of injury in the workplace, which is why effective and exhaustive planning is absolutely necessary if the safety of workers is to be preserved.
Workers need to receive health and safety training relevant to their role and working environment in order to keep the risks to their health to a minimum.