Glasgow company convicted after excavation collapse crushes worker to death

A company has been fined after the death of a man working inside an excavation on a Glasgow construction site.

Derek Caddie (44) was working under Carrig Construction Services Limited, appointed as contractor at the Belhaven Terrace West Lane site, where new houses were being built. Mr Caddie entered the excavation on 25 November 2019 to repair damaged and leaking pipework.

He was working with a colleague, Steven Hannah, when the excavation collapsed, trapping him in soil from the neck down. Mr Hannah and another colleague tried to dig him out, but Mr Caddie was not freed until he was rescued by emergency services.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and was taken to hospital, where a scan showed he had sustained a brain injury and oxygen deprivation to the brain. Mr Caddie, a father of one, died in hospital after three days in intensive care.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation uncovered serious failures in the way Carrig Construction Services had managed the excavations. The collapse itself was caused by a lack of support to the vertical walls of the excavation.

Owned by civil engineer Denis Jeffords (48), Carrig Construction Services specialised in groundworks and drainage works, but nevertheless failed to identify the risks of working in an excavation. The company is no longer trading.

Carrig Construction Services had not ensured practicable steps were in place to protect workers inside the work area. Mr Jeffords also completed RAMS (risk assessment and method statement), but it remained unsigned by his employees.

HSE also found that none of the workers under the control of Carrig Construction Services Limited had any formal training on working within excavations. This, alongside the unsigned RAMS, meant workers were unaware of the risks involved.

Derek Caddie, Steven Hannah and other colleagues were installing a pipe which would join into the current sewage system. This meant the site manager and lead subcontractor had to complete a daily permit to work. Although a permit to work was issued for work the previous Friday (22 November), there was no planned work for Monday 25 November, so no permit to work was sought by Mr Jeffords.

A health and safety inspector deemed that the collapse of the excavation was “obvious to an experienced grounds worker.”

This was due to lack of “support measures” on the southern wall and the excavation being backfilled using soil and gravel.

Carrig Construction Services Limited, of Hunters Way, Lochwinnoch, Argyll, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £75,000 at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 28 August 2024.

Barry Smith KC, defending Carrig Construction Services, said:

“This is an unbelievably tragic case. I tender Mr Jeffords and his family's condolences to Mrs Caddie and his family. As a husband and a father himself, it is not lost on Mr Jeffords the unspeakable loss and tragedy.

“It is accepted the company fell short of the requirements between the Friday and Monday. This was in the context of an unplanned excavation and an unexplained situation with the burst pipe.”

Mr Smith stated that Carrig Construction Services is no longer trading, and Mr Jeffords has taken up employment elsewhere.

Graeme McMinn, a Principal Inspector at HSE, said after the hearing:

“This was a tragic and wholly avoidable accident, caused by the failure of Carrig Construction Services Limited to put in place measures to control the risk of the sides of the excavation collapsing.

“HSE provides freely available guidance on effective controls for working in excavations on the HSE website.”

A fundraiser by Mr Caddie’s family was set up for the critical care unit who looked after him, raising £1,805. The family issued a statement via their solicitors:

"Derek was a funny, hard working and loving man – the manner of his sudden and avoidable death broke our hearts and he remains dearly missed by us all.

“While it is right there is accountability and we welcome the conviction, the needless delays in this outcome has only worsened our trauma.

“We have waited nearly five years for these proceedings to come to an end and we still see no reasonable reason about why it has taken this long.

“If there are any positives to come from this then it will be that workplaces are made safer and the criminal system is improved to actually be mindful of the needs of bereaved families."

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