Mobile access hire company Adastra Access Ltd has been fined £200,000 plus costs after two workers died in a mast climber work platform (MCWP) collapse.
Father and son David Bottomley, 53, and 17-year-old Clayton Bottomley were working on the exterior facade at Unity Building in Liverpool.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said they were on the 21st floor, about 30 metres from ground level, when the MCWP failed and collapsed to the ground.
The watchdog added that witnesses reported hearing a loud whistling noise before seeing the platform “free fall to the ground at speed” in the incident on 19 May 2021.
David died at the scene from massive blunt force chest injuries. Clayton died three days later in hospital from multiple injuries sustained in the fall.
An HSE investigation found the MCWP supplied by Adastra Access had been at the site since 2019 and was not fitted with suitable safety-critical equipment required by British Standards.
The platform was manufactured by Wuxi Huake Heavy Machinery Company in China.
“The platform lacked an Electric Motor Overload System, which should alert users to motor failures requiring immediate investigation,” the HSE said.
“Examination of the drive units revealed failure of parts in each unit due to fatigue. Had the platform been equipped with proper safety systems, David and Clayton would have been alerted to the motor failure and the equipment taken out of service.
“The investigation also uncovered that certificates of conformity provided to Adastra Access Ltd were fraudulent. The company named on the certificate of conformity had not conducted any accreditation examinations, verifications, or testing of the MCWP.”
Following this discovery, Adastra Access withdrew its entire fleet of MCWPs from service, the HSE said.
In her victim’s personal statement, Paula Bottomley, David’s wife and Clayton’s mother, told Liverpool Magistrates Court: “Never in my lifetime did I ever begin to imagine having to say goodbye to my son at only 17 years old just days after losing my husband. Losing both of them has broken me and I am just not the same person anymore.”
Their daughter Molly Bottomley said: “On 19 May 2021, my world stopped. I have completed all my GCSEs and A levels, attended prom, passed my driving test, got into my first relationship, and moved out into student accommodation, all without my dad and brother, which is absolutely soul crushing.”
Adastra Access Ltd, of Middlemore Lane West, Aldridge, Walsall, was found guilty of breaching Section 6(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company, which is now in liquidation, was fined £200,000 at Liverpool Magistrates Court on 27 August. It was also ordered to pay £14,886.01 in court costs and a victim’s surcharge of £2,000, the HSE said.
Retired HSE inspector Christine McGlynn, who led the investigation, said: “This was an entirely preventable tragedy that has devastated a family and robbed them of a loving husband, father and son.
“David and Clayton Bottomley should have safely returned home to their family at the end of their working day, but they did not due to Adastra Access Ltd’s fundamental failures to ensure the equipment they supplied was safe.
“The company failed to conduct proper checks on safety-critical systems and relied on fraudulent certificates. These failures cost two lives. This case serves as a stark reminder that cutting corners on safety has the most serious consequences.”
Following the investigation, the HSE issued a safety alert to the construction industry, warning that some MCWPs were not fitted with suitable controls to manage the risk of platforms falling at dangerous speeds.