Scaffolding firm fined £20,000 after employee fatally injured

A scaffolding supplier based in County Antrim has been fined £20,000 after an employee was fatally injured at work.

Sixty-year-old Samuel Magill had been collecting scaffolding components from a construction site on the Lisburn Road when a metal board struck him on the head in December 2024.

He was transferred to hospital and later died of his injuries on 5 February 2025.

His employer, 7 Towers Scaffolding Limited, which is based on Millwater Lodge in Ahogill, admitted a charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all its employees on 18 December 2024.

Belfast Crown Court heard on that date, five of the company's employees were working on premises owned by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust on the Lisburn Road.

Magill was employed as a lorry driver, and his main role was collecting dismantled scaffolding and transporting it.

Scaffolding was first erected in a small garden area on 16 December, and a gate and wall formed an exclusion zone around it. The fatal incident occurred as it was being dismantled.

There was no security fence around the scaffolding and, as access was still needed to be provided to the building, one of Magill's roles on that day was as a 'spotter', to keep people from entering the exclusion zone.

Magill, who was not wearing a hard hat, had just walked into the exclusion zone when he was struck by a steel scaffolding board that was observed "flying through the air".

He was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he remained for several weeks before his death.

On Thursday, defence barrister Bobbie-Leigh Herdman described Magill as a "much-loved and valued employee and friend" of the business.

She told the court: "I'm instructed to convey their very sincere condolences and regret as to the tragic situation."

The barrister said that, by its plea, the company was accepting that Magill should not have been in the exclusion zone, and he entered to help out the scaffolders which "was not officially part of his job".

During the hearing, Judge Philip Gilpin said he had read statements provided by Magill's fiancée, daughter and sister.

Magill's fiancée described him as a "massive part" of her life and spoke of "hoping for a miracle" during the period he remained in hospital.

His daughter, speaking on behalf of herself and her two brothers, described the way in which their father was taken from them as "devastating".

Magill's sister spoke of the devastation felt by his siblings and their elderly parents.

She described her brother as "the heart of the family" and "someone with a big heart, a bright smile and someone who would help anyone."

An investigation by HSENI found that the company had not sufficiently managed and controlled the exclusion zone around the scaffolding during its dismantling phase, by not having adequate measures to prevent people getting close to the scaffolding who were not directly involved in the dismantling.

Speaking after the hearing at Laganside Crown Court, Major Investigation Team Insp Kevin Campbell said: "This tragic incident was entirely preventable".

"Samuel Magill suffered serious injuries as a result of being struck by a metal scaffolding board that fell in an uncontrolled manner," Campbell said.

"All employers must ensure that they have robust procedures to ensure that equipment and components are lowered to the ground in a controlled method. Clear work instructions must be communicated effectively to all the relevant personnel involved in the activity.

"It is vital, where there is a possibility that that items may fall unintentionally, that "there is a clear identified exclusion zone, with appropriate measures to prevent unauthorised persons entering this area."