Widow of man (70) killed on building site gets £65,500

Union sources have said the advanced age of a man killed in a building site accident in 1996 was the main factor limiting a compensation settlement in the case to £65,500.

Mr Francis Burns (70) died from a fall caused by a scaffolding collapse on a Zoe Developments site at Parnell Street, Dublin, in March 1996. Yesterday the High Court approved the £65,500 award to his widow, Mrs Ann Burns, of Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, who had sued the company.

A spokesman for the Building and Allied Trades Union said Mr Burns had been a retired bricklayer who was helping out a relative at the site.

The compensation would have been based on a number of factors, including loss of future earnings, which in Mr Burns's case were not considerable.

The spokesman said one consolation from the accident was that "unbelievable changes" had taken place since, both in the company involved and in the industry in general. "If his death served a purpose in highlighting the dangers, at least he didn't die in vain."

SIPTU's construction branch secretary, Mr Eric Fleming, agreed the Parnell Street accident had been the catalyst for a huge improvement in building safety standards.

There had been a spate of similar scaffolding collapses around that time, in which cost-cutting appeared to have been a factor.

"We went public on the issue then to say that it was no coincidence these accidents were happening, and there has been a marked improvement on sites since. Not as much as we would want to see, but things are certainly better than they were."

It was sad that Mr Burns had to die to highlight the dangers, he said, adding that the compensation was "less than you'd expect for the loss of a father and husband".

The man's age had clearly been a factor, but SIPTU regarded age as "totally irrelevant" in such circumstances, Mr Fleming said.

The case was dealt with briefly before Mr Justice O'Sullivan in the High Court. On the application of Mr John Nolan, for Mrs Burns, he approved the settlement.