Company fined for Brum Uni graduate’s death
A CONSTRUCTION company has been fined £133,000 after a “perfect” son was crushed to death by an excavator – four years after they were fined for another worker’s death.
Former Birmingham University student James Rouke, 22, had been attaching warning signs to fencing around the site when he was hit by the vehicle.
He lost his life after being struck and run over by an excavator at Sarazen Gardens, Brampton, Cambridgeshire on November 18, 2019.
James had graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in geology in the summer of 2019 and had celebrated his sister’s 21st birthday the weekend before.
The site engineer, from Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex, had only joined his employer, Materials Movement Limited, months before.
The firm had been hired to undertake ground clearance works at Sarazen Gardens in preparation for the building of new houses.
Materials Movement Limited, of Herts, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £133,330 and ordered to pay £8,500 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on March 22. James’ mother, Clare, said in her victim personal statement: “The sunshine has been taken from our lives and the dark gap is immense.
“Our profound loss is ever present; James is always missing. “James was perfect. He was a big part of our close family unit. He would do anything for us. We cherished him, dearly.
“He was a compassionate, valued friend to many and was known for his humour and gentle nature.”
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Materials Movement Limited had failed to plan and manage the work at Sarazen Gardens.
The company failed to properly supervise the work that James and the excavator driver were undertaking to ensure it was safe. They had also failed to ensure the work was planned and managed to eliminate any chance of James working near the excavator.