Death of Romanian builder Marian Nemit crushed by a falling pillar in Leyton was accidental, inquest rules

Marian Nemit, 21, was injured while working on a shop renovation in Leyton High Road, near Bakers Arms, on April 14, 2015.

A jury of six men and five women delivered the verdict at Walthamstow Coroner’s Court on Wednesday (September 13) after a two-day inquest.

The court heard evidence from Mr Nemit’s colleague Franesko Begkai, who pulled the builder from the rubble as he was “screaming in pain” and noticed his chest was swollen.

Mr Begkai said on the morning of the incident he and Mr Nemit received instructions from their boss George Isodorou, the owner of GI Construction.

While Mr Isodorou spoke with Mr Begkai in his native Greek, he gave instructions to Mr Nemit in English.

When asked if he thought his colleague understood the instructions even though he was not fluent in English, Mr Begkai said he believed he did because they were simple orders.

A member of the deceased’s family, Anca Belu, told the inquest others giving evidence were exaggerating her cousin’s ability to speak and understand English.

The men were told to clear away rubbish to make way for new building materials and Mr Nemit began using a drill to get rid of old cement around the base of a pillar.

After Mr Begkai noticed one side of the base of the pillar had broken off, leaving the upper end “hanging in the air” he told Mr Nemit not to work around it any longer because it was dangerous. 

After going into a hole beneath the pillar to clear out debris, it collapsed on top of him.

The court heard how Mr Isodorou had left to get building materials shortly after the men started work, leaving no supervisor on site.

When questioned by the coroner about who was responsible for safety and risk assessments, Mr Isodorou used his right to refuse to answer following advice from his barrister.  

After the incident, additional scaffolding was put in place to ensure the rest of the building didn’t collapse. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has refused to release documents to the family or confirm many facts, saying they form part of an on-going investigation.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Nemit died from internal bleeding.

Solicitor for Mr Nemit’s family Ms Helen Clifford said: “Marian was only 21 years of age when he was killed.

“The jury heard that he was a hard-working man whose ambition was to live in Australia.

“It appears that his employer did not take sufficient care to ensure Marian’s safety and as a consequence he died as a result of being crushed by a brick pillar.

“The company did not even know Marian’s name.

“The HSE confirmed that they will be giving further consideration to prosecution and I will be urging them to bring charges against the company.

“All employees should be kept safe from harm in the workplace and employers should be held to account when deaths or injuries occur.”