Building Manager Jailed for Health and Safety Offences

A building manager in London has received a prison sentence after being found guilty of health and safety failures that resulted in the death of a woman.

Amanda Telfer was killed after being hit by three falling window frames as she was walking past a construction site in Hanover Square, London in August 2012.

The frames had been delivered to a construction site and left leaning, unsecured against a wall.

Kelvin Adsett was responsible for placement of the frames and the failure to secure them. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment after being found guilty of manslaughter following a trial at the Central Criminal Court.

IS Europe Ltd, the company which employed Adsett, was found guilty of health and safety charges. It would have been fined £100,000 but apparently had only £250 left in its bank account after falling dormant.

The construction company’s site manager was sentenced to a six month prison sentence suspended for two years after he was found guilty of failing to take reasonable care for health and safety.

“If Kelvin Adsett, Damian Lakin-Hall and IS Europe had complied with their legal responsibilities, Amanda Telfer would not have died,” said Graham Partridge, London CPS reviewing lawyer.

"They were delivering and storing large, very heavy window frames and should have known that, unsecured, they presented a serious danger to the public on what was a windy day,” he added. "The CPS case was that the defendants' conduct was so bad that those involved bore criminal responsibility for Ms Telfer's tragic death.”

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