Guildford Crown Court heard that M & L Installers Ltd were contracted to install a mezzanine floor at a factory in Sunbury on Thames, Surrey. The design included a hole in the mezzanine floor where a lift was due to be installed.
A contractor who was working on the floor fell just over 3.5 meters and suffered life threatening injuries, when he stepped backwards through the hole, on 13 January 2015. He was hospitalised for two months after receiving a severe brain injury, and has not been able to work since.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the company failed to guard the hole for the lift or board it up preventing anyone from falling through.
M & L Installers Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations, Regulation 6(3) and were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £9165.56 costs.
HSE Inspector, Amanda Huff, commented after the hearing: “The contractor’s injuries were life changing and he could have easily have been killed. This serious incident and devastation could have been avoided if basic safe guards had been put in place”.
