7 Towers Scaffolding Ltd has been fined £20,000 following the death of a collection driver who was struck by a metal scaffold board during dismantling work in Belfast.
The County Antrim company was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on 22 October after previously pleading guilty to a single breach of Article 4(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
Samuel Magill, 60, was collecting scaffold components from a construction site on Lisburn Road on 18 December 2024 when the incident happened. He was taken to hospital and died on 5 February 2025.
Board fell during dismantling
According to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), a team employed by 7 Towers Scaffolding was dismantling the scaffold when a metal component that had been removed became dislodged from the upper area of the works.
The board, approximately 2.4 metres long, fell around eight metres and struck Mr Magill on the head. Paramedics attended and he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
HSENI said Mr Magill had arrived to collect the dismantled components, parked his vehicle on the pavement directly outside the site and continued on foot. He was struck at the outer edge of the site’s exclusion zone, next to the pavement.
Exclusion zone controls
The regulator’s investigation found that the company had not adequately managed and controlled the exclusion zone during dismantling. It said measures were insufficient to prevent people who were not directly involved in the work from approaching the scaffold.
After the hearing, HSENI Major Investigation Team Inspector Kevin Campbell described the incident as “entirely preventable”.
He urged employers to ensure scaffold equipment and components are brought down using a controlled method, with clear instructions communicated to everyone involved.
Campbell also stressed that where materials could fall unintentionally, an exclusion zone must be clearly identified and backed by measures to stop unauthorised people entering it.
The prosecution places the management of people at ground level alongside the method of lowering components as key issues during scaffold dismantling. In this case, the worker struck by the board was collecting materials rather than taking part in the dismantling operation.
HSENI directed contractors to HSE’s Health and safety in construction guidance, HSG150, for information on working on and with scaffolding.
