A construction company was fined £100,000 after a worker was seriously injured when a wall collapsed onto him.
Matrod Frampton Limited was working at the site in Old Coastguard Road in Poole in August 2022 when the 69-year-old steel-fixer was left with life-changing injuries.
A breezeblock wall was backfilled too early and before its mortar had properly set and it collapsed as he was working nearby, crushing him against a concrete floor.
The company, of Riverside Park, Wimborne, admitted breaching health and safety regulations at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 5 December, was fined and told to pay a further £8,242 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had not properly assessed the site’s risks and that it had failed to appoint a coordinator or supervisor for work.
That had been highlighted as a risk in a safety report eight days before the accident happened.
An HSE inspector, Alexander Ashen, said: “The correct design and execution of temporary works is an essential element of risk prevention in construction.
“This incident illustrates what can happen when temporary works are not properly organised. Matrod Frampton Limited is an established construction company, and a temporary works procedure should have been implemented as a matter of course,” he added.
“The fact that the company’s own health and safety consultants raised this issue eight days before the incident makes this wholly avoidable event all the more tragic.
“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to properly plan and manage serious risks on construction sites.”
