The case in summary: A 59-year-old man died after a fall on a construction site in Spydeberg, Indre Østfold. The man had worked at the construction company for three weeks as the only employee. The general manager of the construction company has been sentenced to 30 days in prison and must pay compensation of NOK 380,000. The manager pleaded guilty to a lack of protection at height, but not to mapping dangers and assessing risk conditions. The Norwegian Labor Inspectorate uncovered many serious errors and deficiencies on the construction site after the accident. The defendant has stopped all business and has been on sick leave after the incident. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On 10 November last year, a 59-year-old man fell three meters and landed on a concrete floor. He suffered extensive head injuries, and died two days later. The fall occurred in connection with a construction project in Spydeberg in Indre Østfold. The man was a foreign citizen and had worked in the construction company for three weeks, as the only employee. In addition to prison, the day-to-day manager must pay restitution compensation of NOK 380,000 to the bereaved. The man, who has now been sentenced, alerted the emergency services with the help of people nearby. Photo: Freddie Larsen Pleaded partially guilty in court In court, the defendant explained that he and the deceased talked about the risk of falling just before the accident happened. – He told me that he was going to continue working with the tarpaulin, and that I was going to continue building. As I turned and left, I heard a crash. I realized that he had fallen through the hole, said the defendant in court. Despite having safety equipment available, it was not used. – We had not secured well enough. We should not have been covered with a tarpaulin, and should have used belts and helmets, he said in court. He pleaded guilty to one of the two counts for which he was charged, which concerned a lack of protection at height. But he pleaded not guilty to charge two, which concerned mapping dangers and assessing risk factors. He justified this by saying that there was an HSE manual and that every morning they discussed the work and the risks involved together. Inspection revealed serious deficiencies The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority visited the accident site three days after the accident. In court, the inspectorate described many serious errors and deficiencies on the construction site. They concluded that there was a very high potential for injury and that no measures had been taken to avoid a fall. Three days were set aside for processing the case in the Follo and Nordre Østfold District Court. Photo: Rune Fredriksen / news There was also a lack of systematic mapping of risks and dangers for this specific project, which is to be created. The Norwegian Occupational Safety and Health Administration pointed out that the existing HSE manual was too general. The court therefore concluded that the defendant had not provided a safe working environment for the deceased during the work on the building’s second floor. – Shut down all operations The defendant was clearly affected during the trial which took place in Follo and Nordre Østfold district court at the end of November. Defense attorney Lina Smorr Photo: news The man’s defense attorney, Lina Smorr, then told news that the defendant has suffered a lot mentally after the incident. – He has had and still has an extremely difficult time. He has shut down all business and been on sick leave. He pleaded guilty to one of the two counts for which he was charged, which concerned a lack of protection at height. news has tried to get in touch with the prosecutor and defense attorney in the case, without success. Published 12/12/2024, at 17.11
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Man died at work in Spydeberg – news Østfold – Local news, TV and radio
