Balfour Beatty fined £285k over university death

Construction giant Balfour Beatty has been fined £285,000 after a worker died during the building of a university facility.

Igor Malka, 62, fell 10m to the ground while working on a scissor lift installing cladding for an engineering hall at the University of Birmingham.

A second man, Edmund Vispulskis, suffered serious injuries when the machine was pushed over by a nearby crane.

The firm admitted breaching health and safety regulations at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

A Health and Safety Executive probe found the two victims, from Lithuania, might not have sustained their injuries if Balfour Beatty had implemented better controls.

There was also no lift supervisor present at the time of the incident and on-site communication was poor, investigators added.

Inspector Gareth Langston said the incident highlighted the importance of having proper plans in place.

"This was a tragic incident that led to the death of a worker with another being seriously injured and still experiencing difficulties today as a result," he said.

Balfour Beatty was ordered to pay £21,768 in costs on top of the fine.

The University of Birmingham was not prosecuted by HSE.

A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: "Our heartfelt thoughts remain with Igor's family, friends, and colleagues.

"The health and safety of our workforce will always be our primary concern. This tragic event has prompted further improvement to our processes and we have shared the lessons we have learnt across our business."

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