Sussex man spared jailed after fatal construction worker crush

Simon Briggs, 61, was given a suspended sentence after Oleksander Rudyy, 49, became “buried beneath bricks” and was impaled by a metal rod on a site he was working on.

Briggs, of Danehill near Haywards Heath, previously admitted contravening health and safety regulations after his company failed to properly train and supervise Mr Rudyy.

Briggs was handed a 23 week suspended sentence at Birmingham Crown Court and was ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work.

Mr Rudyy, originally from Ukraine, became "buried beneath bricks" when a wall he was working on gave way at a development in Birmingham.

Oleksander Rudyy and his wife Neonila (Image: SWNS)

Emergency services were called to the scene and pulled him and another worker from the rubble after a 20-minute-long rescue on May 8, 2019.

Mr Rudyy, also known as Sasha, had a metal bar impaled in his shoulder and was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.

A postmortem revealed he died from crushing asphyxia coupled with catastrophic chest injuries.

A court heard how there was no proper plan for the job which was being carried out by inexperienced workers who had been inadequately supervised.

The accident happened while Mr Rudyy removed steel rods from the wall with an angle grinder. He was not a builder by trade and was not aware the metal bars played a crucial role in supporting the structure.

Michael Burrows KC, prosecuting, told the court that Briggs’s company Stonehurst Estates Lt took an “opportunistic decision” to take risks and their actions amounted to “cost cutting at the expense of safety”.

Stonehurst pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and a health and safety breach, and was fined £450,000.

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Mr Rudyy’s widow, Neonila Ruda, said in a statement read to the court: "My husband was an honest and hard-working man. If he was told to do something he would do it.

"It was clear there was limited supervision and a lack of health and safety. If there had been proper supervision my husband would still be alive today.

"In 2021 I caught Covid and was admitted to hospital. I thought it would have been easier to die and then I would have been with Sasha.

"The impact of my husband dying in such a tragic way has had a terrible effect on me.

"He was my life, my partner, my best friend. He was such a humorous man. His passion was football. He knew everything about football and all the players.

" My husband was unbeatable at chess and played with our son. Our future disappeared in one tragic moment when I was told Sasha had died.”

A site supervisor, Vasyl Bychkov, 45, admitted a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act was given a 18 month community order and ordered to do 135 hours unpaid work.

Sentencing Briggs, Mrs Justice Yip said: "Although I can not say there was a wholesale disregard for safety the standard of safety surrounding the demolition work was not good.

Simon Briggs (Image: West Midlands Police)

"There was an over reliance on common sense and oral communication.

"By failing to properly train, instruct and supervise Mr Rudyy the company fell far below the basic standards of safety within the construction industry."