In February 2016, insulation plates were blown off the roof of a construction site due to heavy winds. The plates hit a 51-year-old employee of a construction firm who was standing on the pavement. Thirteen days after the incident, the man succumbed to his wombs. In the trial on Thursday, the insulation firm stood accused of failing to adequately secure its material.
The prosecutor highlighted the failure to safely secure its material was observed by the Inspectorate for Labour and Mines (ITM), which revealed that the plates - packed together in 50kg groups - fell 12 metres to hit the man on the head. Whilst the man was wearing a safety helmet, it was not enough to stop the impact of the plates hitting him.
The prosecutor continued that the man's death was caused by the fall, and that the cord holding the pack together was not adapted to securely keep the plates together. Added to that, the weather forecast for the day warned of wind gusts of up to 110 km/h. The prosecutor argued that the insulation firm was criminally liable due to its mistake causing the man's death.
The firm's owner told the court he couldn't explain the accident, and that he had told his employees to verify the bindings of the plates before sending them home. He added that he did not know of a cord keeping the plates together. An ITM investigator told the court that the scene of the accident had been covered in plates and that a fence surrounding the site had been partially crushed by the impact of the plates falling. The victim had been at the scene to construct a small wall.
The packets of insulation plates contained five plates, were up to 2.5 metres tall and were only bound by the cord and a strap. The lawyer defending the firm declared his surprise that the construction firm was not being pursued for having its employees work despite the poor weather conditions. He urged the court to acquit the insulation firm as it had taken all precautionary measures.
The verdict is expected on 6 February.
