Health and Safety Breach – Work at Height Regulations
A construction firm has been prosecuted after a man fell from a roof and suffered serious injuries. The 27-year-old, who asked not to be named, was fixing scaffolding at Tower Hire (Services) Ltd in Worcester when he plummeted five metres to the ground and broke his elbow, wrist and pelvis.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the firm had not provided appropriate training to the victim regarding fragile roofs and their associated dangers. Worcester Magistrate’s Court heard that the man did not know there were safety concerns as his employer had been negligent in highlighting them.
“Tower Hire Services left the labourers to plan how to do most of the job themselves and as a result, one of the company’s employees was seriously injured in an entirely avoidable incident that could have been fatal,” HSE Inspector Paul Humphries revealed. He went on to add “When falling from height remains the biggest cause of deaths within the construction industry, it is unforgivable that this firm failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment or method statement for the work.”
With HSE guidance freely available on line, the inspector concluded that there was no excuse for this accident. Tower Hire (Services) Ltd were subsequently fined £8,000 and told to pay prosecution costs amounting to £6,644 after pleading guilty to breaching the 2005 Work at Height Regulations.
