Risk, Health and Safety Information

Worker’s injuries severe enough to necessitate amputation 

One worker who had his leg run over by a dumper truck was injured severely enough to warrant the crushed limb’s surgical removal, according to the details of his work accident claim.

Bromley native Michael O’Donovan, forty one years of age, had been working as a building work assistant at Arsenal’s Ashburton Grove Emirates stadium, at the time of the accident, his personal injury solicitors recently reported. The worker’s injuries were so serious that doctors performed a surgical amputation of his right leg in the wake of the incident, where he also suffered a fractured pelvis as well.

The Government’s Health and Safety Executive conducted investigative proceedings regarding the incident shortly thereafter, revealing that the three construction firms that had been responsible for the work site had neglected to ensure that there had been safe segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. Hemel Hempstead based Sir Robert McAlpine Limited, was given a fine of £19,000 for its role in Mr O’Donavan’s life-changing injuries, and both Watford based Maylim Limited and Rickmansworth based Skansa Utilities Ltd, McAlpine’s two contractors, were fined £18,000 and £17,000 respectively, after all three admitted to breaching health and safety regulations at a hearing in Magistrates’ Court for the City of London.

The HSE inspector who was involved in the hearing spoke once the fines were handed down, stating that all construction sites must by necessity segregate vehicles and workers whenever it was practical to do so. The inspector also said that the incident could have been averted if there had been an adequate risk assessment of the safety risks.