Fines totalling €35,000 handed down for unsafe practices on building site
Tuesday 20th July
Fines totalling €35,000 were handed down to P. Elliott and Co. Ltd in the Criminal Courts in Parkgate St. today ( Tuesday 20th July) following a case involving the serious injury of a Slovakian national Mr. Marian Smutney. The case arose when on the 24th of October 2006 Mr. Smutney (D.O.B 20th of October 1978) was seriously injured on a construction site at Clare Hall on the Malahide Road, Dublin, which was a large development of Apartment blocks under the control of P. Elliott and Co. Ltd.
The incident occurred when a steel cage, constructed of reinforcement bars was being lifted from a roof of a four story apartment block. The steel cage fell apart and landed on Mr. Smutney below. He was steel fixing mesh adjacent to the intended cage location when the cage struck him. Mr. Smutney has been left with paraplegia as a result of his injuries and has since returned to Slovakia.
Speaking after the sentencing hearing Martin O’Halloran Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority said,
“This tragic outcome was a direct result of a failure to manage lifting operations, the consequences of that failure have been devastating for Mr. Smutney.”
