Hertfordshire building firm Concentra has been fined after a woman who was waiting for a bus was hit by an air handling unit being lifted by a crane to the fifth floor of a nearby office block.
The woman suffered severe multiple injuries including several broken bones and cuts and swelling to her head and was hospitalised for eight days.
Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the incident on 26 September 2008 was preventable and prosecuted the company.
The building was being refurbished but instead of traditional scaffolding being used on the site, a mast climber had been erected, which allowed workers to be raised and lowered on the outside of the building.
An investigation by the HSE found that a crane and lifting slings were being used to lift a 380kg, 0.6m2 by 2m high air handling unit. The crane was not fitted correctly and during the lift the unit hit a mast climber and was knocked out of its sling, causing it to fall from height and hit the woman below.
Concentra was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £21,000.
