Company fined £1.6m after preventable workplace death - could your business be at risk?

Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, a company specialising in temporary access equipment, has been ordered to pay £1.6 million following the death of an employee who was fatally crushed when a crane sling failed. The incident occurred on August 8, 2019, at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne, where 24-year-old Jack Phillips was working for the company, known commercially as Lyndon SGB.

Phillips was assisting with the lifting of temporary mast climber work platform sections using a lorry-mounted crane when the attached lifting sling broke. The failure caused the load to drop, tragically crushing Phillips and resulting in his death.

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Sussex Police determined that Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd had not adequately planned the lifting operation. The company neglected to establish safe exclusion zones and lacked effective systems to ensure that lifting accessories, such as slings, were properly inspected or discarded when no longer fit for use. This oversight allowed expired slings to remain in service, contributing to the fatal incident.

The company, based at Kingston Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, admitted guilt for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

On November 27, 2024, Brighton Magistrates’ Court imposed a fine of £1.6 million and ordered the firm to pay £23,193.60 in costs.

Mr Phillips’s parents, Scot and Nichola, shared their grief in a statement: “Words cannot capture the profound loss we feel. Our only son, Jack, is gone, and our family’s life is forever altered. We will never again see the child we raised into a young man achieve milestones like marriage, parenthood, or growing old. His absence leaves us incomplete.”

HSE Principal Inspector Ross Carter remarked, “This devastating incident resulted in the entirely preventable loss of a young life. Jack’s death could have been avoided had his employer met its legal obligations to properly assess and control the risks associated with lifting operations and equipment maintenance.”

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