Balfour Beatty fined £285,000 after fatal scissor lift accident

Charges were brought after a scissor lift carrying two men crashed into a building during the construction of a new engineering hall at the University of Birmingham on 7 April.^th January 2020.

Igor Malka and Edmund Vispulskis, both from Lithuania, were working on a scissor lift installing cladding when the machine tipped over, throwing them 10 metres down.

62-year-old Igor Malka was killed. Edmund Vispulskis suffered spinal injuries and broken ribs and had to wear a neck brace for seven weeks. He also had to have nails inserted into his pelvis and thigh.

The crane was used to transport hydraulic equipment that had been delivered by truck for the project.

Balfour Beatty was the main contractor during the construction of the National Buried Infrastructure Facility at the university.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found that the incident could have been prevented if Balfour Beatty had implemented better controls and improved communication between contractors. On site were contractors using the gantry crane to move the hydraulic units into place and another team installing the internal cladding. As the main contractor on site, Balfour Beatty had a duty to ensure communication and cooperation between these contractors. In addition, there was no lift supervisor present at the time of the incident.

The University of Birmingham was not prosecuted by the HSE.

Balfour Beatty pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £285,000 and ordered to pay £21,768.88 in costs at Birmingham Crown Court on 16.^th September 2024.

HSE inspector Gareth Langston said: “This was a tragic incident which resulted in the death of one worker, another was seriously injured and continues to face difficulties today as a result.

“Lifting operations must be properly controlled. They must be planned and plans must be followed.”

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