Lessons must be learned from Crossrail death
Lessons must be learned from Crossrail death
The construction industry must learn lessons from the death of René Tkacik on the Crossrail project, site union UCATT has said. In March 2014, the 44-year-old highly skilled and experienced worker was crushed to death by wet concrete while working for the Bam Ferrovial Kier joint venture on the Fisher Street tunnel near Holborn, London (Risks 692). On 3 March this year an inquest jury gave a narrative verdict, while recording the death of the Slovakian national was accidental. The jury found that “unclear” processes including the method statement and the definition of the exclusion zone contributed to his death. Steve Murphy, general secretary of UCATT, said: “This was a terrible tragedy and my deepest condolences go to Mr Tkacik’s family. This death was clearly preventable and lessons must be learned from this tragedy to prevent similar accidents occurring in the future. No issues must be covered up to prevent similar deaths occurring in the future.” He added: “If the industry wants to learn from this tragedy and improve safety then it is essential there is full transparency. We urgently need an honest debate about how the entire industry, including the union movement, can increase the safety of workers.” Commenting earlier, he said the “deeply regrettable decision” by the coroner to block two witnesses giving evidence to the inquest on Crossrail’s safety practices “could mean that vital safety lessons are lost.”
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