A COMPANY that carried out work at Thurrock’s London Gateway have appeared in court over the death of a worker on-site.
Representatives from land reclamation company Dredging International (UK) Ltd appeared at Basildon Magistrates Court to answer charges concerning the death of employee Robert Mayne at DP World London Gateway’s construction site in 2011.
Mr Mayne, a subcontractor, and another worker went out at around 4am on 23 April 2011 to recover a bulldozer which had become trapped in the silt. The court heard that while attempting to free the dozer, he “received fatal crushing injuries”.
The prosecution stated that an “ad hoc recovery technique led to this accident” and that Dredging International had failed to conduct risk assessments of vehicle recovery.
The company are accused of failing to provide safe working practices on site, breaching their duty of care to Mr Mayne under the Health and Safety Act.
As the maximum penalty the Magistrates Court could hand down in this case is a fine of £20,000, the prosecution requested that the court decline jurisdiction of the case and send it to the Crown Court instead.
The defence did not enter a plea and agreed with the prosecution’s request to defer to the Crown Court. Magistrates declined jurisdiction over the case, considering it too serious.
The case is set to appear before Basildon Crown Court in the week commencing 23 September.
