The employer of a labourer who died while working on a Premier
League club training academy has been fined £160,000.
In February 2007, Karl Davis, from Wallasey, Merseyside, was
working at Everton FC's Finch Farm centre in Halewood, Merseyside,
when a guard-rail gave way and he fell out of an open window
frame.
The married 43-year-old died less than a week after his birthday
on May 29, 2007, after falling into a coma for three months
following the accident.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution saw Kier North
West, part of the Kier Group, ordered to pay £160,000 and £43,993
costs after the
work accident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard a rubbish chute had been attached to
a temporary guard-rail at the window frame, leading to a skip
below.
Kier North West's site management team had failed to ensure that
the guard-rail could withstand the weight of the chute and
materials being thrown down it.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the
safety of workers.
A spokesman for the Kier Group said: "The group takes the health
and safety of its workforce extremely seriously and has taken every
opportunity to revisit and reinforce its site safety
procedures."