A contractor has been fined £600,000 after a fatal fall on a construction site in the North West.
Dennis Vincent, 36, died after falling to the ground while lowering access equipment from the roof of an office block in Warrington in February 2021.
His employer, Wakefield-based PTSG Electrical Services, was fined £120,000 at Wirral Magistrates’ Court earlier this year over the incident.
Main contractor Inco Contracts has now been ordered to pay £600,000 plus £58,448 in costs following a separate hearing at Liverpool Crown Court. The Stafford-based company was found guilty of breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Warrington-based electrical subcontractor Prestige Security Installations was also fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £15,000 costs at the latest hearing.
Palmyra House, Warrington
Vincent had been installing a lighting protection system at the front of a building in Palmyra Square as part of a project to convert it into flats. He was using a rope attached to a frame at ceiling level when both he and the frame fell to the ground.
The Health and Safety Executive said Prestige’s safety facilities and Inco’s contracts failed to ensure the work was properly planned and carried out safely. Scaffolding or lifting platforms should have been considered for the job, the watchdog found.
Inspector Sara Andrews said: “Contractors should be aware that appointing subcontractors with specific specialties does not remove their duty to ensure that the work is properly planned and can be carried out safely.
“If Inco Contracts and Prestige Security Installations had properly reviewed PTSG Electrical Services’ proposals to carry out the work, they could have ensured that adequate controls were in place before work began and this tragic incident could have been avoided.
“Our thoughts remain with the family of Dennis Vincent, a husband and father who did not return home on February 24, 2021 due to the significant failures of these three companies.”
Prestige Security Installations and Inco Contracts have been contacted for comment.
