August 21, 2020Building firm fined after self-employed subcontractor sustained multiple fractures and a brain injury following 15-foot fall.
Brebner and Williamson Limited has been fined following an incident where John Niven, a self-employed subcontractor, fell 15 feet from a youngman board, which had been used to create a temporary platform. He sustained multiple fractures and a brain injury.
On 29 July 2016 Mr Niven was working on a new build at Plot 1, Station Road, Crook of Devon, Kinross. A youngman board was used to create a temporary platform to give access to the roof in an area without scaffolding. Mr Niven was standing on the youngman board when it slipped, causing him to fall onto a concrete floor slab below.
The HSE found that Brebner and Williamson failed to properly supervise the work at height, to ensure scaffold surrounded the full perimeter of the house under construction, and to ensure a suitable working platform and fall protection measures were in place.
Brebner and Williamson of St David’s Drive, St David’s Business Park, Dalgety Bay, Fife pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 4 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and were fined £5,000.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Gillian Anderson said: “Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related fatalities and severe injuries in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.”
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£5K is not a deterrent for a construction company….could this be why falls from height remain so frequent?