Worker injured falling down a service riser shaft

Newcastle upon Tyne Magistrates’ Court heard how Meldrum Construction Services Limited (MCS) was the principal contractor for refurbishment work at premises in Percy Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

MCS failed to plan for the requirement for temporary platforms to be installed in the service riser to provide a safe work area. Subsequently, temporary floors were installed to specifications they had not been designed for. A worker stepped onto the temporary wooden floor on the first floor riser which collapsed and he fell 4.5 metres to the floor below, spraining both ankles.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 6 July 2015 found that MCS failed to plan and manage the construction phase of the project in that they failed to plan and manage the temporary works within the service riser.

Meldrum Construction Services Limited of Panteon Building, Lancaster Road, Dunston, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1969.