Roadstone pay out in electricians' burns case
Roadstone, a leading Irish building materials company, has been fined €17,500 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for breaches of health and safety legislation over five years ago which left two electricians with burns.
Roadstone pleaded guilty through Mr Sean Keane, a director, to failing to provide a safe working environment on July 16, 2001, at or near its paving plant at Fortunestown, Tallaght.
The company also admitted failing to ensure that adequate lighting was provided at the electrical equipment on which or near which work was being done in circumstance which might cause danger.
Mr Jim Holmes, an inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, told prosecuting counsel, Mr Patrick McGrath BL, it was Roadstone’s fourth conviction for not complying with safety regulations.
Judge Katherine Delahunt imposed fines totalling €17,500 and noted that the absence of the regular contract electrician on the day had left a third year apprentice electrician supervising a first year apprentice.
She also noted there was inadequate lighting in the switch house where they were working and there had been a failure of communication but said "the company has taken seriously their failure to provide a safe system of work" for their employees and had remedied the situation by appointing safety officers to ensure it would not happen again.
Mr Holmes told Mr McGrath that operations in the paving plant were halted at about 4.15pm on the day of the accident due to a failure of the compressed air supply. The normal contract electrician for the site was away that day and a third year apprentice was supervising two first year apprentice electricians.
An investigation was conducted in the switch house of the plant where the fuses are located by one of the three apprentice electrician present on the day. They were unable to fix the problem and contacted the contract electrician to ask for help to replace a cable.
He encouraged the apprentices to continue to try and fix the problem. Apprentices John Slattery and John Egan returned to the switch house and one of them inadvertently touched a "buzz wire" which had been left live after the earlier investigation causing an explosion leaving the two men with burns.
Mr Holmes said they returned to work a number of weeks later and he was unaware of any lasting injuries.
Mr Holmes said a Health and Safety Authority (HSA) investigation the following day revealed that three of the light bulbs in the switch house were not working and there was insufficient light.
Mr Keogh told defence counsel, Mr Hugh Hartnett SC (with Ms Caroline Biggs BL), that safety had since been taken very seriously at the plant and there were now three full time safety officers.
Mr Keogh told Mr Hartnett the company wished to apologise to the two men for their injuries.
Mr Hartnett said the prosecutions had arisen from several incidents which occurred around the same time when there were "difficulties" at the plant and there had been no further prosecutions since that time.
He said that one of the men had been compensated in the amount of €37,750 by the company in a civil action and the other man had taken no action.
