Major construction firm FP McCann Ltd has been fined £110,000 following the death of a subcontractor at its Loughside Quarry in 2023.
The company was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Friday, March 13, after pleading guilty to a single health and safety offence arising from an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).
The case followed the death of Mr William Houston, who had been working as a subcontractor at the quarry on April 23, 2023.
The court heard that Mr Houston had been assigned to drive a dumper truck, transporting stone from a cone crushing plant to stockpiles. Around lunchtime the cone crusher stopped and a blockage was reported. The plant was isolated and a large stone, weighing approximately 45kg, was found to be causing the obstruction.
The stone was manually removed from the crusher and carried to a raised conveyor catwalk, approximately 15 feet above ground level. During this process, the stone fell through the railings of the catwalk as Mr Houston was walking below. He was struck by the falling stone and later died in hospital from his injuries.
Prosecutors in the Public Prosecution Service’s Fraud & Departmental Section worked with HSENI to bring the case before the court.
Speaking after sentencing, Sophie Pearson, an inspector in HSENI’s Major Investigation Team, said: “This was a tragic incident. Employers must take adequate measures to prevent materials or objects falling from height. They must stop and consider what risks are involved in the task and take the necessary action, so that harm does not occur to employees, or as in this tragic incident, to someone like Mr Houston who was subcontracted to work at the site.
“Where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent objects from falling, employers should take suitable and sufficient measures to ensure that nobody can be injured. A simple solution such as an exclusion zone can be easily implemented to reduce the risk to workers.”
