Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited has been fined £2.6 million after an employee was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed on him in Lancashire.
On the 14 April 2010, James Sim, 32, from Barry, South Wales, who was employed as a subcontractor on behalf of Balfour Beatty, was laying ducting for new cable for an offshore windfarm, when the accident occurred.
The trench was dug to a depth of 2.4 meters, without any shoring.
Mr Sim was killed when he became trapped in the trench after it collapsed on him.
Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The Court heard that Balfour Beatty failed to adequately risk assess the works or control the way in which the excavation took place.
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