Groundworks firm fined £75,000 after trench-wall death

A groundworks firm has been fined £75,000 following an accident in which a site worker was killed after a trench wall collapsed.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Derek Caddie, 44, died when an excavation wall fell at a site in Glasgow on 25 November 2019.He was working on a housing scheme under the control of Carrig Construction Services Ltd.At the moment of the accident, Caddie was working with a colleague to repair damaged and leaking pipework, the inspectorate said last week. The colleague was not injured.Caddie was trapped in soil from the neck down before being rescued by emergency services, but died from his injuries in hospital three days later.The HSE’s investigation found that the collapse was caused by a lack of support to the vertical walls of the excavation.It concluded that Carrig Construction Services had failed to identify the working risks on the excavation.The HSE also said the groundworks and drainage-works firm had not ensured that “practicable steps” were taken to safeguard workers inside the excavation area.The investigation found that none of the workers under the control of Carrig Construction Services had received formal training on working within excavations. It also said none were aware of the risks involved.Carrig Construction Services Ltd, of Hunters Way, Lochwinnoch, Argyll, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.The company was fined £75,000 at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 28 August.In a statement, HSE principal inspector Graeme McMinn said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable accident, caused by the failure of Carrig Construction Services Ltd to put in place measures to control the risk of the sides of the excavation collapsing.”