Samuel Magill: Scaffolding company fined £20,000 after employee fatally injured at work

Samuel Magill, a 60-year-old employee of 7 Towers Scaffolding Ltd, was collecting scaffolding components from a construction site on the Lisburn Rd, Belfast on December 18 , 2024 when the incident happened.

A team of 7 Towers Scaffolding Ltd employees were in the process of dismantling scaffolding when a removed metal scaffolding component was dislodged from the top area of the works, falling approximately 8 metres.

The metal board, which was approximately 2.4 metres long, struck the employee on his head.

Paramedics attended the scene and the employee was transferred to hospital by ambulance, where he remained until he passed away on February 5, 2025.

The company had earlier pleaded guilty to a single health and safety offence.

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An investigation by HSENI found that the Company had not sufficiently managed and controlled the exclusion zone around the scaffolding during its dismantling phase, by not having adequate measures to prevent people getting close to the scaffolding who were not directly involved in the dismantling.

It established that the injured employee was a collection driver who had arrived to collect the dismantled scaffold components.

He had parked his vehicle on the pavement directly outside the site and proceeded on foot to the site.

He was injured by the falling scaffolding board, at the extremity of the exclusion zone of the construction site, which was adjacent to the pavement.

Speaking after the hearing at Laganside Crown Court, Major Investigation Team Inspector Kevin Campbell said: “This tragic incident was entirely preventable.

"Samuel Magill suffered serious injuries as a result of being struck by a metal scaffolding board that fell in an uncontrolled manner.

“All employers must ensure that they have robust procedures to ensure that equipment and components are lowered to the ground in a controlled method.

"Clear work instructions must be communicated effectively to all the relevant personnel involved in the activity.

"It is vital, where there is a possibility that that items may fall unintentionally, that there is a clear identified exclusion zone, with appropriate measures to prevent unauthorised persons entering this area.”