Companies failed to carry out the 'most basic checks' says health and safety inspector
A series of heavy fines have been handed to Miller and PJ Carey after being prosecuted for the death of a worker in 2003.
Miller Construction was fined a total of £127,000 and PJ Carey £117,000 for an incident when employee Justin Taylor was fatally struck by a dumper truck on the Fremlin Walk development in Maidstone on 20 June 2003.
Two individuals received separate fines for their part in the accident. Sean Mongan was fined £2,500 and Barry Pollen £1,000. If either man fails to pay they will face 28 days in jail.
The accident occurred after the brakes failed on a dumper truck, causing it to run out of control down a slope before striking Taylor.
Peter Collingwood, Inspector of Health and Safety, said: "The companies involved failed to carry out even the most basic checks on the drivers ability to safely operate a dumper. It is likely that a trained driver would have recognised that the dumper was unsafe to be used and that it should be taken out of service until repaired. If adequately segregated pedestrian routes had been provided to enable people to walk to their places of work without sharing vehicle routes then it is likely that Justin Taylor would not have been in the vicinity of the dumper when its brakes failed."
The fines were handed down at Maidstone Crown Court last week.
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