Legal News
Construction company fined over “wholly preventable” work accident (12 June 2014)
Date: 12/06/2014
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has successfully prosecuted a construction company, after a sub-contractor fell from height from a staircase and broke his collarbone.
The unnamed 52-year-old from Leigh in Greater Manchester was employed by Ereconomic Construction Limited at a site in New Square, West Bromwich in the West Midlands, when the accident happened on 31 May 2013.
Ereconomic Construction Limited had been contracted by Odeon Cinemas to fit out a new cinema complex. The injured worker was employed by Ereconomic Construction Limited to install balustrades on a staircase in the cinema’s foyer.
A delay in installing the balustrades left the staircase without guardrails – and the temporary edge protection at the side of the staircase at first floor level was removed to allow a floor system to be installed.
The worker was retrieving some tools from the first floor landing when he fell one metre over the side of the staircase.
As a result of his broken collarbone, he was off work for three months.
An HSE investigation found that Ereconimic Construction Limited had failed to make sure sufficient measures were in place to prevent or mitigate the fall.
On Monday (09/06/14) at Sandwell Magistrates’ Court, Ereconomic Construction Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states:
“Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.”
Ereconimic Construction Limited was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,033 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Amy Kalay said that the company had failed in its duty of care to its sub-contractor – and added that the incident was “wholly preventable”.
“Falls are the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK – and it is imperative that all work at height activity is subject to a high degree of management and control,” she said.
“This is one fall that could have been avoided had the edge protection been left in place, or had alternative safety measures been provided.”
Falls from height are one of the most common work-related injuries – and construction is also one of the most high-risk industries for accidents at work.
It is estimated that in 2013, more than 6,300 employees were seriously injured as a result of falling from height at work.
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