Health and Safety Audit Shows Equipment Faulty
A Hertfordshire company is fined due to an incident involving a person of the public. The woman was injured as she waited for the bus to show up. She was waiting around at the bus stop when equipment fell hurting her. The incident happened in 2008. The case is now in court and according to the health and safety audits by the HSE it was an entirely preventable situation.
Had health and safety measures been in place the woman would not have sustained multiple injuries such as broken bones, cuts, and swelling in her head. She had to be hospitalised for eight days due to the injuries incurred. She also had to put off her studies.
The building she was waiting in front of waiting for the bus was being refurbished, but traditional scaffolding was not being used. Rather, a mast climber was erected to help workers go from the ground to different floors. The crane and lifting sling was carrying an air handling unit for which the crane was not fitted. The item was knocked out of the sling, falling and hitting the woman.
It is lucky that the woman survived as the situation could have ended differently. Concentra has been ordered to pay £20,000 in a fine and £21,000 in additional costs due to the safety and health breaches of Section 3(1) in the 1974 safety at work act. Had the company concentrated on safety such a hefty fine could have been avoided.
