A company has been fined £450,000 and its director handed a suspended sentence after a worker died at a construction site in Birmingham, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Oleksander Rudyy, 49, was crushed to death in May 2019 when the structure he was standing on collapsed. He had earlier removed the metal bars supporting the structure with an angle grinder, unaware of their role.
West Midlands Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Stonehurst Estates Ltd worked on a sensitive structure without a proper plan and sequence in place, despite the company being aware of readily available safety measures.
None of the men working on the building site, including site foreman Vasyl Bychkov, had any demolition expertise, according to the prosecution agency – which added that there was no risk assessment or safe system of work in place for the task Rudyy was undertaking.
An HSE expert described the standard of care provided to Rudyy as “woeful”.
Stonehurst Estates Ltd pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences at Birmingham Crown Court. The firm was fined £450,000 and ordered to pay costs of £167,601.
Company director Simon Briggs was sentenced to 23 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to contravening the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Bychkov pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others on the site and was sentenced to 130 hours of unpaid work.
Head of the CPS special crime division Rosemary Ainslie said: “Although he was not onsite when this tragedy took place, as director of Stonehurst Estates, Simon Briggs owed a duty of care to Mr Rudyy for any work carried out.
“He and his company failed to plan and carry out the demolition safely, which led to tragic consequences where a man needlessly lost his life.
“As site manager on the day in question, Vasyl Bychkov, who had no expertise in demolition, asked Mr Rudyy to undertake a task that lacking sufficient expertise, was inherently dangerous. He failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of labourers working at the site.
“Our thoughts remain with Mr Rudyy’s family and friends at this time.”
