Health and safety failings bring fines for construction company
A firm has been sentenced for safety issues after a roofer fell from scaffolding in Trafford. The worker received bad injuries during the fall of three metres. The scaffold did not have a safety rail. The incident happened to a 44 year old in 2011. He landed on a flat garage roof from the scaffolding. He suffered a dislocated knee and broken bones in his right leg due to the fall. As always, the health and safety executive was on hand to conduct health and safety audits of the incident to determine if there was any fault.
The HSE gave out six notices to New Generation as soon as they did an investigation. It was found that the work needed to stop and improvements needed to be made before any other work was conducted. The health and safety of the site was not there and it could have led to more than one person getting hurt. The scaffolding was in poor condition. There were also places in the floors and walls that were unprotected. This could have created more falls. The HSE stated that the work was not planned or managed well, and this is what led to the injury of the worker. The company did plead guilty to three offences that left them paying £3,900 in a fine and £4,000 in court costs for endangering workers’ lives. Construction is one of the most dangerous professions, especially when working at height.
