Probation Act for firm guilty of unsafe work practices

A CONSTRUCTION firm has been given a chance to avoid a conviction after a demolition site worker was hit by a steel bar.

Halcox Ltd, of Pecks Lane, Castleknock, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to two charges in connection with the workplace accident on June 9, 2018, at Cork St, Dublin 8.

It follows an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority.

The worker, Dalibor Edelinski, was standing on rubble using a hose to keep dust down when he was accidentally struck,

Dublin District Court heard. Judge Anthony Halpin said he would apply the Probation Act if the firm donated €10,000 to charity and paid €4,125 towards prosecution costs. The case was adjourned. The construction firm admitted it failed to provide a safe system to operate a firehose on top of a rubble ramp on the site, and as a consequence Mr Edelinski suffered personal injuries.

In an outline of the case, prosecuting counsel Antonia Boyle told Judge Anthony Halpin that Mr Edelinski had been working on a demolition site at Cork Street.

He was using a water hose to damp down dust from a height and was directed to stand on a rubble platform.

Two excavators were working on the site the time and one was moving waste steel and rebar reinforcement steel. A projecting bar struck the injured party in the face.

He lost consciousness and woke in the ambulance. Mr Edelinski remained in hospital for eight days and required a number of operations. He suffered serious dental injuries, and a laceration to a neck artery but CT brain scans have been clear.

He also had bruising, swelling, lost teeth and had a laceration to his lip.

Further treatment will be required, the court was told.

The defence told the court that the labourer was back at work and has initiated separate proceedings for compensation. Judge Halpin noted the guilty plea. The offences were contrary to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.