Higgins Homes and Four Workers Face Charges After Mother Dies in East London Brick Fall

Based on reporting by BBC UK:

A court has heard that Michaela Boor, 29, sustained fatal injuries when a substantial quantity of bricks fell onto her head as she walked past a building site in east London. The incident occurred on Burdett Road in Bow on the morning of March 27, 2018. Boor suffered a fractured skull and passed away two days later.

Higgins Homes is currently being tried at the Old Bailey, facing allegations of corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence. Four construction workers employed by Higgins Homes—Thomas Anstis, Stephen Coulson, Dawood Maan, and Alexander McInnes—are also accused of the same offences. Both the company and the four men have denied the charges.

During the opening of the case on Monday, prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC stated that Boor was walking toward some shops alongside a friend, Chelsea Mustafa, when the bricks descended from a crane. The court learned that a pallet of bricks being transported by a tower crane toward a loading bay immediately adjacent to the pavement along Burdett Way fell after catching on scaffolding while being hoisted.

The prosecution asserted that crane operator McInnes had limited visibility of the load, and that the operation became a "blind lift" once it moved entirely out of sight. Healy informed the court that while Chelsea Mustafa ran into the road away from the construction site, sustaining some bricks on her back and hand, she managed to avoid the main portion of the falling load. However, Michaela Boor could not get off the pavement and was struck by the falling bricks, resulting in a fractured skull and catastrophic brain injuries.

Jurors were informed that Boor received immediate care at the scene and was transported to the Royal London Hospital, but her injuries were deemed "unsurvivable," leading to her death on March 29. Higgins Homes was the primary contractor and designer for the project to construct a block of flats.

The prosecution alleged that no risk assessment had been conducted for lifting pallets of bricks so near members of the public, and claimed Higgins Homes had neglected the safety of people outside the site. Healy told the court that Higgins Homes had failed to properly consider the protection of the public.

Thomas Anstis, 69, from Banstead, Surrey, was identified as the senior site manager and temporary work co-ordinator, responsible for the building site and overseeing subcontractors. The prosecutor claimed there was evidence indicating he "cut corners" in an effort to "save cost."

Coulson, 69, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was the director of Coulson Lifting Services and was in charge of lifting services, though he was not present at the site on the day of the incident. Dawood Maan, 61, from Ashford, Kent, served as the crane supervisor responsible for overseeing and supervising lifting operations on the site. Alexander McInnes, 34, from Islington, north London, was the crane operator. The trial is ongoing.