Court fines Causeway group company for fatal accident in Waterford city
Alois Makarov died in a workplace accident at a site on Parnell Street in Waterford city, which previously housed a branch of Bank of Ireland.
Causeway Facilities Management Limited has been fined €150,000 for an accident in 2016 that resulted in the death of a construction worker.
The deceased, Alois Makarov, who was a general operative, was killed when a 540kg piece of masonry fell on him while he was clearing rubble on a construction site on Parnell Street in Waterford city.
The company, with an address at Old Kilmeaden Road, Co. Waterford, was charged with breaches of Section 8 (1) and 8 (2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare Act, which relate to an employer's responsibility to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees.
In this case, the company failed to ensure an exclusion zone was in place around the demolition site.
The judge took into consideration a charge of failing to ensure workers had the appropriate training at the time of the accident.
Two operatives, including the deceased, did not have Safe Pass qualifications at the time of the accident.
Founder and CEO of the Causeway Group, Sean Johnston, entered a plea of guilty on behalf of the company at a sitting of Waterford Circuit Criminal Court before Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
In passing sentence, Judge O’Kelly said the “only realistic penalty is a financial one”.
He described the incident as “foreseeable”, but not a “deliberate breach of law to increase profits”.
The judge said a “shockingly negligent” safety file was produced, and a “haphazard mindset” was demonstrated surrounding safety.
There was also a “complete lack of understanding” demonstrated surrounding exclusion zones.
The court heard that the company had no previous convictions of infringement of health and safety, and they apologised to the family of the victim.
Health and Safety Authority Inspector Roddy Molloy gave evidence that on December 12, 2016, the deceased, a 20-year-old general operative from Estonia, had been working on a construction site on Parnell Street when a “substantial” piece of masonry weighing 540kg fell on him, causing “catastrophic injuries”.
Causeway Facilities Management had been contracted to demolish a number of internal walls in a former Bank of Ireland building so the layout could be reconfigured.
The operative had been tasked with removing rubble as the walls were demolished.
His “distraught” colleagues discovered him at around 4pm and called an ambulance.
Mr Makarov's body was removed to University Hospital Waterford, where the doctor said that he suffered blunt force trauma to his skull and brain. His death had been instant.
The court was told that on the day of the accident, the project manager and foreman on site was Noel Johnston.
The architect had carried out a visual survey and safety plan from templates provided to him, according to the architect's statement.
The plan did not include a specific exclusion zone around the demolition site.
Mr Molloy explained that exclusion zones are "marked so nobody would come in contact with falling material".
Mr Johnston had instructed the operatives to remove the material but to be careful.
He had been on site on the day but had left and returned a number of times.
The accident happened when the operative was removing the material as the wall was being knocked.
The inspector concluded from his investigation that “a competent person should have assessed the area before the removal of rubble”.
Mr Johnston told the inspector that he considered the whole site was a "cordoned area", the court was told.
Additionally, two operatives, including the deceased, did not have Safe Pass training at the time of the accident.
The court was told that the company had no previous convictions and had paid costs to both the HSA and the DPP in the amounts of €9,729 and €16,794, respectively.
The barrister acting for Causeway Facilities Management Limited told the court that his client wished to extend their condolences to the family of the deceased.
He put it to the witness, who confirmed that he had been told the company had offered to repatriate the deceased to Estonia, an offer that was refused.
The company did subsequently pay for Mr Makarov's funeral and cremation, and an employee returned the ashes to his family.
The barrister said they had settled a civil claim with the family and that the company had “conceded liability”.
The court was told that Mr Johnston had been in the construction industry for 20 years.
He had instructed the young worker to “stay back” but he was “enthusiastic and “eager to impress”.
The operative demolishing the wall said in his statement to the HSA that they had been told to “go gently” because of the risk.
While two of the operatives did not have Safe Pass training, the second man did complete the course after the incident.
The barrister told the court that the company supports local clubs and charities and that Sean Johnston had donated a building to be used for a homeless service.
The court was told there was no victim impact statement available from the man's family.
But Mr Molloy said that the deceased's brother had come to see the photos and that from that, he had gotten some closure.
The company’s barrister told the court that they accepted the safety plan on the day was “inadequate”.
“There should have been a more rigorous safety regime on the day,” said the barrister.
On day two of the sentencing hearing, draft financial statements were provided to the court, as requested by Judge O’Kelly, to determine an appropriate fine.
Judge O’Kelly asked the court if Causeway Facilities Management Limited was merely “one tiny cog in an enormous property enterprise”, and he requested clarity over the profits of other companies associated with Causeway Director Sean Johnston.
Draft statements of turnover and profitability were therefore provided, which revealed that Causeway Facilities Management Limited is one of 26 companies in which Johnston was involved.
The companies recorded an annual turnover, which is in the “multi-million euro bracket”.
During the cross-examination of Sean Johnston, Mr Eoghan Cole SC, acting for the state, asked if the imposed fine should be proportionate only to the profits of the offending company, Causeway Facilities Management Limited, or if the profits of the other companies should also be considered.
Mr Johnston said he was willing to pay the fine himself or via his other companies if Causeway Facilities Management Limited alone wasn’t financially able.
