G Baskeville Ltd Pays for Accident due to Negligence

An accident involving an employee working at height prompted a cautionary notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to employers to ensure that adequate safety measures are provided to all those working at heights.

The accident was said to have occurred due to the lack of barriers to break the employee's fall. The worker suffered serious injuries after falling from the first floor of the building he was working on. The incident occurred in October last year at Barnfields Industrial Estate in Staffordshire.

An enquiry into the accident revealed that the walls of the building had been removed during the work and no proper barriers had been erected in their place. A steel girder fixed around the building sides had huge gaps.

The employee was using a power saw at the work site when he lost his footing and fell through the gap in the barrier. The fall caused him serious injuries, which were thought to be life threatening initially. The employee was forced to spend 6 weeks in the hospital for treatment.

HSE investigators said that any of the workers employed on the site could have sustained the same degree of injuries owing to the inadequate protection provided. They pointed out that for such work, the risk of falling from height was an evident one and should have definitely been taken into account by the employer when safety measures were being put in place.

The case came up for hearing at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court. The employers were fined £8,000 and asked to pay costs of £6,000 after they pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

SOURCE: http://www.healthandsafetynews.co.uk/