WOMAN CRUSHED TO DEATH BY FALLING BRICKS AT BUILDING SITE, COURT TOLD

A mother died from head injuries after a pallet of bricks fell from a crane onto her as she walked along Burdett Road in Bow, east London, the Old Bailey has heard. Michaela Boor was on the school run with a friend, Chelsea Mustafa, when the bricks fell on 27 March 2018. Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC told the court the pallet was being moved by crane towards a loading bay beside the pavement when it struck the two women. Boor suffered a fractured skull and catastrophic brain injuries, and died two days later, on 29 March. Mustafa was struck on the back and hand but ran clear into the road.

Higgins Homes plc is on trial at the Old Bailey charged with corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence. Four construction workers contracted by the company — Thomas Anstis, Stephen Coulson, Dawood Maan and crane operator Alexander McInnes — face the same charges and, along with the company, deny them. Healy told jurors the pallet caught on scaffolding while being hoisted, causing the bricks to fall. The prosecution alleges McInnes had a restricted view of the load, turning it into what it called a "blind lift". Higgins Homes was the principal contractor and designer of the development, a block of flats being built on the site.

Healy told the court no risk assessment had been made for lifting pallets of bricks close to members of the public. She alleged Higgins Homes failed to give proper consideration to the protection of people outside the construction site. Boor was treated at the scene before being taken to the Royal London Hospital, where her injuries proved unsurvivable. The trial continues at the Old Bailey.