Everton stadium worker broke foot two weeks before site tragedy

07 October 2023 , 18:54

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Michael Jones died at new Everton FC site (Image: Liverpool Echo)

Two workers at Everton FC’s new stadium were hurt in separate safety incidents just weeks before a subcontractor died.

Work at the Premier League club’s £500million Bramley-Moore Dock site was temporarily halted after ventilation engineer Michael Jones suffered fatal head injuries on August 14. But less than two weeks earlier, a worker at the Liverpool site fractured their foot and in July another fractured their arm. There was no watch-dog probe in either case.

A Freedom of Information request to the Health and Safety Executive revealed nine reports of injuries at the site, run by Laing O’Rourke, since July 2021. After the death of Mr Jones, 26, we told how the firm had been accused of denying proper union access to the site.

A surfer flag is held up in memory of Michael Jones during a game (PA)

Unite’s Jerry Swain said: “Two serious accidents before the death of Mr Jones should have alerted Laing O’Rourke that safety was a problem.” Mr Jones’s employer, Mersey Vent Ltd, said it was cooperating with the police and HSE probe, adding: “The safety of our team is our priority.”

Laing O’Rourke said it is “constantly investing in health and safety programmes and training”, adding: “In the last 12 months, reportable accidents on our projects [are] less than one-twentieth of the industry average.” Everton FC declined to comment.

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