Two Tonnes of Falling Bricks Killed a Passer-By. Now Higgins Homes Faces Manslaughter Trial
Old Bailey trial opens after two tonnes of crane-lifted bricks killed Michaela Boor, 29, on a Bow pavement in 2018. Higgins Homes and four men deny all charges.
- Section
- Construction
- Author
- By Marcus Bennett
- Filed
- Length
- 1 min read
Key takeaways
- Michaela Boor, 29, died on 27 March 2018 after two tonnes of falling bricks struck her on Burdett Road, Bow, east London.
- Higgins Homes is charged with corporate manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.
- Four individuals — Thomas Anstis, Stephen Coulson, Dawood Mann and Alexander McInnes — are charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
- Both the company and the four men deny the charges.
- The trial began at the Old Bailey.
Two tonnes of bricks fell from a crane onto a pavement in east London and killed a 29-year-old woman walking past a Higgins Homes site — and yesterday a corporate manslaughter trial over her death began at the Old Bailey.
Michaela Boor died on 27 March 2018 after the load struck her as she walked on the pavement at the corner of Burdett Road in Bow. The bricks fell from a crane operating on the construction site beside her.
Prosecutors have charged Higgins Homes with corporate manslaughter and an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Who else is in the dock?
Four men who worked on the site face individual charges of gross negligence manslaughter plus Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 offences:
- Thomas Anstis, 69 — site manager
- Stephen Coulson, 69 — lifting plan supervisor
- Dawood Mann, 61 — crane supervisor
- Alexander McInnes, 34 — crane driver
Both the company and the four men deny all charges. The trial continues at the Old Bailey.
Why the case matters for construction
The case turns on who bore responsibility for a routine lifting operation above a public pavement. A corporate manslaughter conviction against a housebuilder would place legal liability for public-safety failures squarely on the company itself, not only on site personnel.
The verdict will test how the UK's corporate manslaughter law applies to crane operations over streets where pedestrians walk daily.
Source: Construction Enquirer
More from Marcus Bennett
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Correspondent covering money, funding and market shifts around construction industry, architecture, interior design at Built Current.
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