A worker was seriously injured after he tripped and fell 4.5 metres through a void.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how a worker employed by a sub-contractor working for Bowmer and Kirkland Limited, was contracted to pour concrete onto the first floor of a building that was under construction at For Kinnaird Retail Park in Edinburgh.
There was an opening in the floor of 2 x 1 metres that had been covered by an unsecured wooden board.
When the employee was walking across the floor, he dislodged caught his boot, tripped and dislodged the board.
He fell about 4.5 metres through the void in the first floor, breaking his foot as well as sustaining serious injuries to his back.
The court heard that he was off work for twenty-two weeks and suffers continuing pain. He has reduced mobility, finding it difficult to walk or sit for long periods.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 16 May 2014 found that the company failed to take suitable and sufficient measures by not fixing the wooden panels placed on the void to prevent a fall.
Bowmer and Kirkland Limited, of High Edge Court, Church Street, Heage, Belper, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005 and was fined £6,600.
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Fine ridiculously low considering event potential and size of organisation involved – akin to the 1980s
Taking into account the new sentencing guidelines I fail to understand how a company with a turnover of £733m, gross profit of £27m and a cash balance of £194m can be fined only £6,600 for such a serious and totally predictable accident.