A building company has been fined £40,000 after the unsupported gable wall of a house collapsed on to a neighbouring property leaving a resident with a fractured sternum and collarbone.
The wall fell during a home refurbishment project in which the existing property had been reduced to a shell with its roof, internal walls, and structural support members for both gable ends removed.
Temporary supports to prevent the collapse of both gable ends were not in place and the correct sequencing of works and co-ordination with the scaffolding contractor failed to take place, resulting in the collapse.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the incident at a house in Grange Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 5 April 2021, could have been prevented by effective planning of the dismantling sequence of works.