Two construction companies have been fined after a worker sustained severe injuries, including fractures to his neck and back, when a temporary platform collapsed on him. The incident occurred on 23 February 2024 at Paxton House in the City of London during a refurbishment project. Roots Contractors Limited received a fine of £19,333 plus costs of £5,548 following the prosecution.
Temporary platform collapse causes life-changing injuries in City of London.
Steve Zschoch, aged 60, was working for Diacutt Limited as a drilling operative when the accident occurred. The principal contractor, Roots Contractors Limited, was overseeing the refurbishment project which involved cutting new openings through five concrete floors to create a service riser shaft. To manage the debris, Roots Contractors Ltd had instructed its carpenters to construct temporary wooden platforms beneath each opening, intended to collect the 16kg concrete cores and other generated waste.
On the day of the incident, Mr Zschoch was performing cutting work on the third floor, positioned directly below one of these temporary platforms. Without warning, the structure gave way, collapsing onto him along with a significant amount of uncleared concrete chunks. Mr Zschoch vividly described the traumatic experience, stating he was “folded up like a concertina.” He suffered profound injuries, including fractures to his neck and back, and a bleed on his brain.
The incident has had a permanent impact on Mr Zschoch’s life. He has been unable to return to work since the accident and spoke candidly about the profound changes he has endured. “The impact this incident has had on me has been life changing in so many ways,” he explained, highlighting not only mobility issues but also a significant loss of confidence in undertaking everyday tasks. He detailed how even simple domestic chores, such as visiting the launderette or local shops, now overwhelm him, affecting him both emotionally and physically.
An investigation launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered multiple critical failings that contributed to the collapse. There was no formal design for the temporary platforms, nor had any calculations been performed to determine a safe level of loading they could withstand. Although an inspection form for the platform was reportedly completed, it failed to identify any design flaws. Furthermore, the individual assigned to complete this inspection was not a competent temporary works coordinator, a key requirement for such structures.
The HSE investigation also revealed that while there was a verbal instruction for workers to regularly clear the platforms and avoid ‘overloading’ them, no specific safe loading limit was ever established or communicated. Consequently, there was no effective monitoring system in place to ensure that the platforms were indeed being cleared regularly or that they were not exceeding any safe capacity. This lack of clear guidance and oversight created an inherently unsafe working environment.
Deficiencies were also identified in the planning, management, and monitoring of the work carried out by Diacutt Limited. Risk assessments and method statements provided by Diacutt prior to the project were found to be inconsistent, and their requirements for the principal contractor to provide ‘crash decks’ were unclear. Alarmingly, there was no supervision of the drilling team by Diacutt management in the week leading up to the incident or on the day itself.
A lack of coordination and clarity regarding who should be working where was also noted, despite operatives understanding the general principle of not working directly below one another. The HSE emphasised the critical importance of carefully managing temporary works. Legal requirements stipulate that any temporary structure must be meticulously designed, installed, and maintained to withstand all foreseeable loads that may be imposed upon it. It must only be used for the purposes for which it was designed, installed, and maintained, and regular inspections by a competent person are mandatory.
Roots Contractors Limited, based in Ewell, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 16(2) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was subsequently fined £19,333 and ordered to pay costs of £5,548 at a hearing held at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 June.
This story was originally published by HSE Media Centre
