Two victims of the 2020 Bow crane collapse are suing a housing association and structural engineers over the incident, and have criticized the length of time the official investigation is taking.
On July 8, 2020, 85-year-old June Harvey (pictured below) died after a 27-metre crane crashed into the roof of the home she shared with her niece, Jacqueline Atkinson, and his great nephew, Sam Atkinson.
Jacqueline, 66, and Sam, 31, suffered physical and psychiatric injuries, and their home was destroyed.
This week they issued claims against Swan Housing Association, its subsidiary Swan Commercial Services and PGCS Partnership over the incident.
Swan owned the land and was building 65 units of social housing at Watts Grove, Bow. Essex-based PGCS Partnership was a consulting engineer on the job.
In documents released to the court, the victims claim that the crane was based on four steel legs resting on concrete pads built specifically for its stability.
They claim that Swan had a manufacturer make the bearings with only one layer of steel reinforcement. PGCS had drawn up a plan for the bearings that involved two layers of reinforcement, but since the bearings had already been built, they revised the plan to incorporate a series of steel bars that were drilled into the side of the bearings.
However, despite the addition of the bars, there was a gap in the center of the bearings where only the original single layer of reinforcement existed, according to the claim.
As the crane was being raised, one of the bearings failed and the crane fell into June Harvey’s home, documents say.
The claim adds: “The whole scheme was carried out in a hurry without giving time for inspection, checking whether the design of the support was adequate or the reflection, the result of which was the preparation of a defective and dangerous scheme likely to produce failure of the crane and serious danger to all those in the vicinity”.
After the incident, more than 100 people living nearby had to be evacuated from their homes, and some are still living in temporary accommodation.
PGCS went into liquidation in July last year but has not yet been dissolved.
The family have also criticized the time taken for the investigation, which is being led by the Metropolitan Police with support from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
In a statement, Sam Atkinson said: “I feel very disappointed and let down by the authorities who are supposed to be there to protect us and seem to have completely ignored us and our mental health.
“Not only is the lack of answers frustrating, but also the serious lack of communication between the police and HSE and ourselves. The wait for the conclusion of the inquest has been agonizing and I hope we can learn more about the cause of the accident that killed my aunt very soon.”
Helen Clifford, barrister representing the Atkinsons, said: “June’s family’s life has been turned upside down. They still don’t know what went wrong or why.
“They are calling for the police to conclude their investigations urgently so that they can finally have the answers they so desperately need.
“The companies responsible for the collapse have shielded themselves behind these delays to not take responsibility for their negligence, to avoid making any payments to my clients or to finance any rehabilitation for them. It is simply unacceptable that three years later we are in this position. We have issued proceedings to compel these companies to take responsibility and pay my clients the compensation they are entitled to.”
A spokesman for Swan Housing Association said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the authorities’ investigation into this tragic incident. However, as the process is ongoing, we would not be making any further comment at this stage.”
Construction news Begbies Traynor, the insolvency administrator handling the liquidation of PGCS Partnership, has been contacted for comment.
Earlier this year CN highlighted that around one in five fatal safety incidents in England and Wales take more than a year to investigate and there are examples that take much longer, such as the Didcot power station collapse in 2016, the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and the death of Kayla Boor in 2018. with bricks as she walked past a building site in Bow.
Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse where the crane collapsed in 2020, said she was concerned the investigation had not yet concluded. “June’s family and over 90 others continue to be deeply affected by this incident, some still living in temporary accommodation. The current impact on their health and well-being cannot be overstated.”
Begum has previously called in parliament for tougher regulations on crane use and questioned whether the HSE’s underfunding has affected its performance. She said: “I will continue to call on the Government to ensure that the legislation and guidelines governing cranes are strong and that regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive are resourced to carry out rigorous enforcement and investigative bodies such as the police receive the resources to conclude their investigations in an expeditious manner.”
The Metropolitan Police and HSE have been contacted for comment.
