Scaffolding firm fined £20,000 after worker fatally struck

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 18:33 · Archive

Seven Towers Scaffolding Ltd was fined £20,000 after an employee died from head injuries at work.

A County Antrim scaffolding firm has been fined £20,000 after an employee was fatally injured at work. Samuel Magill, aged 60, was struck on the head by a steel scaffolding board whilst collecting dismantled scaffolding components from a construction site on the Lisburn Road in Belfast operated by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. The incident occurred on 18 December 2024 as scaffolding was being dismantled. Magill was not wearing a hard hat and had walked into an exclusion zone around the scaffolding when he was struck by the board, which was observed 'flying through the air'. He was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he remained for several weeks before his death on 5 February 2025.

Magill was employed as a lorry driver by Seven Towers Scaffolding Limited, based in Ahogill. His main role was collecting dismantled scaffolding and transporting it. On the day of the incident, he was also working as a 'spotter' to keep people from entering the exclusion zone around the scaffolding. The company admitted a charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all its employees. There was no security fence around the scaffolding and, as access was still needed to the building, the exclusion zone was marked only by a gate and wall.

How it is being reported

• Co Antrim scaffolding firm fined £20k after death of worker who was struck by steel board during renovations at Belfast propertyBelfast Telegraph · 22 Oct, 17:22
• Scaffolding firm fined £20,000 after employee fatally injuredSeven Towers Scaffolding Ltd based in County Antrim has been fined twenty thousand pound after an employee was fatally injured at work.BBC Northern Ireland · 22 Oct, 17:01

In this story: Seven Towers Scaffolding Limited · Samuel Magill · Belfast Health and Social Care Trust · County Antrim · Lisburn Road · Belfast

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