Company director given manslaughter sentence after balcony falls
Posted on 31 May 2017
A construction company in Brentford, London, along with its company director, has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter following the deaths of two of its workers.
Tomasz Procko and Kyrol Szymanski fell from a balcony whilst they were working, with Procko dying at the scene and Szymanski later dying of his injuries in hospital. Martinisation London Ltd and its director Martin Gutaj, 44, were recently found guilty at the Old Bailey.
According to the prosecution, Nick Vamos, the incident was not an isolated one. He also added that the director and the company demonstrated a lack of regard for safety, adding that the incident had been completely preventable.
The Polish workers had been carrying out work in Cadogan Square at a construction site, attempting to get a sofa onto a balcony. The pair were carrying out the task under direction of the company, but had not been given any training and had no supervision. They were placed at risk of being harmed because no risk assessment, work plan or method statement had been put in place. Vamos said:
“The evidence put forward by the prosecution clearly demonstrated to the jury how these tragic deaths were part of a pattern of serious neglect of basic health and safety.”
The company and director were convicted of corporate manslaughter and sentencing will take place on July 7. Employers have a duty of care to their workforce, which includes training provision, use of PPE where necessary and risk management.