Construction company fined £133,000 after Birmingham graduate crushed to death

A construction company has been fined £133k after a ‘perfect’ son was crushed to death by an excavator - four years after they were fined for another worker's death.

James Rourke, 22, had been attaching ‘warning’ work signs to fencing around the site when he was hit by the vehicle.

He lost his life after being struck and run over by an excavator at Sarazen Gardens, Brampton, Cambs on November 18, 2019. The site engineer, from Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex, had only joined his employer, Materials Movement Limited, months before. The company had been hired to undertake ground clearance works at Sarazens Gardens in preparation for the building of new houses.

James had graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in geology in the summer of 2019 and had celebrated his sister's 21st birthday the weekend before.

In a previous hearing against Materials Movement Ltd, in February 2020, the company was sentenced following a separate HSE prosecution. The company was fined £33,000 following the death of worker Stephen Hampton, 54, who died from an explosion in Camden on March 16 2017. Mr Hampton died after an old fuel storage tank he was cutting up exploded and he was struck by the end of the vessel.

In James' case, Materials Movement Limited, of Herts, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £133,330 and ordered to pay £8,500 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on March 22.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Materials Movement Limited had failed to plan and manage the work at Sarazen Gardens. The company failed to properly supervise the work that James and the excavator driver were undertaking to ensure it was safe. 

They had also failed to ensure the work was planned and managed to eliminate any chance of James working near the excavator. HSE inspector Martin Paren said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a young man.  

"This death could have easily been prevented if his employer had properly planned, instructed, and supervised the work. Our thoughts today are with the family of James, who should have been protected from such harm at work – because of the failings of Materials Movement Ltd he was not.”

'Sunshine taken from our lives'

James’ mother, Clare, said in her victim's personal statement: “The sunshine has been taken from our lives and the dark gap is immense. Our profound loss is ever present; James is always missing. 

"Missing from family events, Christmas, birthdays, holidays. Unknown to newborn family members. Unknown to new friends. Our house has a bedroom with no owner. Possessions we cannot bear to touch, photographs we cannot look at.

“We were an even family of six, now an odd family of five – incomplete, unbalanced. James was perfect. He was a big part of our close family unit. He would do anything for us. We cherished him, dearly. He was a compassionate, valued friend to many and was known for his humour and gentle nature.”