Two construction firms have been fined after a culvert collapsed on top of a worker and seriously injured him.

Enterprise (AOL) Ltd of the Sherard Building, Edmund Halley Road, Oxford admitted breaches of section 22 (1) and 28 (1) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007.

It was fined £90,000 with over £22,800 in costs.

Topbond PLC, of Oyster Quay, Castle Road, Sittingbourne, Kent admitted breaches of section 13 (1) and 28 (1) of the same regulations. It was fined £70,000 with over £22,800 in costs.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Enterprise was selected to replace an outdated and damaged brick culvert under Tudely Lane, Tonbridge.

The company appointed Topbond to do the majority of the work.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told the court that water was being pumped out of the work area when three workers entered the area between two culverts on 27 January 2012.

The workers, including 63-year-old Michael Skitt of Kingsnorth, Ashford, entered the area in order to clear a channel for the remaining water to flow toward the pump head.

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They had begun to clear loose material, but had not started digging.

Shortly after entering, the old brick culvert collapsed. One man jumped clear while another was hit but managed to release himself. However, Mr Skitt was trapped and injured.

He suffered multiple injuries including shoulder blade breaks, an open shin break and a dislocated knee. In addition, he also spent 26 days in hospital and has now had to give up full time work and walks with a stick. Ongoing issues with his foot may see Mr Skit need further operations.

The HSE said the stability of the structure was not assessed adequately, nor sufficient planning undertaken to ensure adequate control measures were in place.

An investigation discovered originally, the old culvert was to be totally demolished early in the work, when this was changed the implications of uncovering half of the damaged culvert and therefore loading it unevenly and undermining it were not managed.

Although repair works on culverts are an unusual construction job, the collapse of excavations and structures is common and the court heard the defendants in the case were made aware of the potential of collapse by the original designers/engineers several times.

HSE said while the culvert could have been demolished early in the project, there are a number of commonly used ways to support structures during construction work.

HSE inspector Nicola Wellard said: "This is a sad case that has changed at least one man’s life for ever. The culvert was being replaced because it had been damaged previously.

"Just this one piece of information should have been enough to ensure both contractors assessed the stability of the culvert throughout the work and took appropriate measures to ensure people were protected from the risk of collapse. These risks are well known and the fact that the two other men escaped without serious injury was just pure luck, this could easily have been a multiple fatality."

(LM)