Liverpool Chandlers Wharf crane collapse: Construction firms in court
Two construction companies have denied breaching health and safety laws in connection with the collapse of a crane in Liverpool that left a man paralysed.
The 200-tonne crane toppled on to an apartment block at Chandlers Wharf in Liverpool city centre in July 2009.
Iain Gillham, from Merseyside, was paralysed from the waist down when he was thrown from the crane.
At Liverpool Crown Court, Bingham Davis and Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd denied breaching regulations.
The crane was being used in the construction of a hotel and flats at Kings Dock Mill in Tabley Street when it fell on to a completed apartment block.
Part of the crane's counter-balance became embedded in the four-storey building and Mr Gillham, 55, from Whiston, had to be rescued from the roof.
His injuries included a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull, spine fractures and a broken shoulder.
More than 100 people had to be moved from their homes following the incident.
Derbyshire-based construction firm Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Liverpool construction engineers Bingham Davis both deny breaching health and safety laws in connection with those other than their employees.
Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd also pleaded not guilty to failures in connection with an employee.
The case has been brought by the Health and Safety Executive.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.