Construction Accidents: Construction Company Fined for Collapse

Thomas O'Neill, a 31 year-old construction worker from Lucan, Ireland, was killed when three flights of stairs fell on him. The stairs collapsed because of a design flaw in the bolts holding the stairs to the walls of the building. G&T Crampton Ltf, from Ballintaggart Road, Clonskeagh, pleaded guilty to negligence and will pay €50,000 for negligence.

Building firm fined in fatal staircase collapse

Judge Katherine Delahunt also heard about two other men injured in the collapse: these men escaped with only cuts and broken bones. Delahunt ruled that "human error" was to blame in the incident: workers were allowed to return to the building before safety concerns had been adequately addressed. Niall O'Donovan, an engineer who investigated the accident for the Health and Safety Authority, said that the flights were set on landings, which were supported by metal "angles" connected to the walls. The angles had dropped 12 to 5 millimeters because of a failure of a bolt and this lead to the collapse. O'Donovan said that the supporting bolts were "grossly under-designed and poorly detailed."