A tragic incident has recently been revealed in an inquest where a father and son lost their lives after the platform they were working on collapsed. The incident occurred at the Unity Building on Chapel Street in Liverpool on May 19, 2021, when David Bottomley, 53, and his apprentice son Clayton, 17, were working on the building. The platform they were on suddenly fell 14 storeys from the 21st floor to the seventh, resulting in David’s immediate death at the scene and Clayton passing away in hospital four days later.
Witnesses at the scene recounted the heartbreaking event, with Thomas Blanchfield describing how the platform, attached to a mast, started clicking like a rollercoaster before dropping into free-fall. The noise was likened to a Catherine wheel or a zip-wire as the basket plummeted. Both David and Clayton sustained severe injuries from the fall, with David succumbing to massive blunt force chest injuries and Clayton suffering irreversible brain damage leading to a hypoxic brain injury, cardiac arrest, and multiple injuries.
Merseyside Police were informed by workmen present that the platform collapsed due to brake failure. David, a sub-contractor for AAI Selby, had been working at the site for 18 months, while Clayton was completing an apprenticeship with his father’s company. Eyewitnesses, including Thomas Lowry and Shani Tatton, described hearing the platform’s noises and witnessing the tragic aftermath from different perspectives in the building.
David and Clayton were fondly remembered by family friends as ‘peas in a pod’, with a note left near the industrial incident site expressing deep sorrow at their loss. The ongoing inquest is expected to shed further light on the circumstances leading to the fatal accident, with testimonies from relevant authorities and entities involved in the construction project.
As the investigation continues, the community mourns the untimely loss of two individuals and questions the safety measures in place at construction sites to prevent such tragic accidents in the future. The devastating incident serves as a stark reminder of the risks faced by workers in high-risk environments and the importance of prioritising safety protocols to safeguard against unforeseen disasters.