Informa Markets

Author Bio ▼

Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) is first for independent health and safety news.
February 11, 2014

Work at height breach leaves self-employed decorator severely injured

 

An Essex construction company has been fined after a self-employed decorator was severely injured in a stairwell fall at a building site in Cambridgeshire. Following the incident in January 2012 the decorator was hospitalised for five days and has yet to return to work.
 
David Scanlon, a decorator from Dunstable, fractured several ribs, his left arm and thumb; snapped the tendons on an index finger; cut and bruised his head; cracked two vertebrae; and suffered several collapsed discs as a result of the incident at Challis Green, Barrington on 17 January 2012.
 
Waltham Abbey-based Hill Partnerships Ltd was prosecuted on 6 February by the HSE after an investigation found temporary guard-rails at the site did not meet statutory requirements.
 
Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Scanlon had been employed by a contractor of Hill Partnerships since October 2011 to undertake external and internal decorating at the residential building site. He was working on the first floor of a block of flats when he fell.
 
He had stopped on a landing area to talk to colleagues who were going down to the ground floor and leant against a wooden guard-rail around the stairwell. It was unable to support him and collapsed, sending him crashing headfirst onto the stairs below.
 
HSE established that the guard-rail was poorly designed and constructed, and simply wasn’t fit for purpose. The court was told that had it been more robust the incident could have been prevented.
 
Hill Partnerships Ltd, of Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex, was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £4,501 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 8(a) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
 
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Gavin Bull, said: “Hill Partnerships failed to ensure the guard-rails they provided to prevent falls inside the buildings were suitable when work was being undertaken. There are well-established design standards for temporary guard-rails that could have been adopted and put in place.
 
“Construction work is a high-risk activity and falls account for a large proportion of all deaths and serious injuries. The end result here is that Mr Scanlon sustained serious injuries that could have been avoided.”

The Safety Conversation Podcast: Listen now!

The Safety Conversation with SHP (previously the Safety and Health Podcast) aims to bring you the latest news, insights and legislation updates in the form of interviews, discussions and panel debates from leading figures within the profession.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, subscribe and join the conversation today!

Related Topics

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments