THE JURY at an inquest into the death of a man at a building site in Dublin has endorsed recommendations from the Health and Safety Authority on safety standards at construction sites.
The recommendation followed a ruling of death by misadventure of Edmund Meredith (23), Leyland Road, Clondalkin, Dublin.
Mr Meredith was admitted to St James’s Hospital on March 17th, 2005, with severe cerebral trauma after he was hit by a galvanised steel bar that had fallen from the roof of a four-storey apartment building.
Mr Meredith was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. Severe head injuries consistent with a heavy impact were found to be the cause of death following a postmortem.
It is believed that Mr Meredith had been on a lower-floor balcony of the building, where he was working for Old Bawn Carpets, when he was hit with the steel rod. The company had been contracted by Pierce Contracting for work on the Gallery Quay apartments on the Grand Canal Bank.
Dublin City coroner Dr Brian Farrell recommended that the jury return a verdict of death by misadventure as it acknowledged risk factors pertaining to an accidental death.
Witnesses identified a lack of safety access railings on parts of the roof of the building. Pierce Contracting site manager Ronan Burns told the jury that OMC Engineering workers, also contracted by Pierce Contracting, were continuing with the construction of a protective railing on the roof on the day of the incident.
A witness said there was no protective netting surrounding the exterior of the building. He said he saw a steel bar fall over the side of the building as a worker appeared to pull construction materials free from a stack on the roof.