Menu

Health and Safety News

Occupational health and safety news and guidance

Builder sentenced for unsafe work after death of couple

A self-employed builder has been fined £75,000 and ordered to undertake community service after work he carried out on an elderly couple's home resulted in their death from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mohammed Jamil had been contracted to carry out work on the garage roof at the home of husband and wife Donald and Rosetta O'Sullivan on Matlock Road, Leyton, between the 14 February and the 31 March 2009.

On 20 July, the Old Bailey heard that Mr. Jamil was paid to raise the roof of the garage, but did not take into account the effect this would have on the safety of the gas appliances within the property.

An investigation by the Health and Safety (HSE) found that in raising the roof, Mr. Jamil enclosed the flue of a boiler, leaving it in a dangerous and unsafe condition. As a result, Mr. O'Sullivan, 74, and Mrs. O'Sullivan, 71, suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and were found dead at their home on the 21 April 2009.

Had the flue not been enclosed, then the deaths could have been avoided.

Mohammed Jamil, of Grove Green Road, Leyton, pleaded guilty of breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 for his failings in relation to the deaths. In addition to the £75,000 fine, he was ordered to pay £25,452 in costs and handed a 12 month community order requiring him to undertake 150 hours of community service.

Read more...

Go Back

Comment