January 7th, 2009
A construction company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an incident in which an employee sustained a serious injury in a fall.
William Taylor fell three metres down some concrete steps while working for Laing O’Rourke Construction on Liverpool One, the new shopping mall in the city centre, in 2007.
He narrowly avoided falling the full three floors, but still sustained a major head injury.
HSE principal inspector Nic Rigby said: "The accident occurred because the company failed to make adequate risk assessments and plan a safe system of work. It was down to chance alone that this incident did not result in a fatality."
The company was fined and prosecuted for failing to adhere to health and safety requirements.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Concrete Steps, Construction Company, Fatality, Head Injury, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Laing O Rourke, Liverpool, New Shopping Mall, Principal Inspector, Risk Assessments, Safety Requirements, William Taylor
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November 24th, 2008
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned all firms that require their employees to work at height to implement safe working practices in order for them to do so.
Its warning came after 62-year-old Satnam Singh was killed while working for Pervez Mohammed Iqbal on the roof of a textiles factory.
Mr Singh fell 20 feet through the roof and died later of his injuries and HSE inspector Georgina Speake said the accident was predictable and therefore avoidable.
"The roofs which were being repaired and those being used for access were totally unprotected, exposing anyone crossing them to the most serious risks," she commented.
The inspector added that Mr Iqbal should have carried out appropriate risk assessments and ordered that his company should be fined and prosecuted under health and safety regulations.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Employee Health, Georgina, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Mohammed Iqbal, Mr Singh, Risk Assessments, Roofs, Safe Working Practices, Safety Regulations, Satnam Singh, Speake, Textiles
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November 11th, 2008
Two companies have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after an employee was killed in an accident.
The unnamed worker had been walking along a steel structure with platforms and walkways at various heights where boilers were being installed in July 2005.
However, floor gratings that were moved during the installations had not been replaced and the man fell 23 metres to his death.
Lentjes UK, the principal contractor and Rafako S.A., the sub-contractor, were prosecuted for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 respectively.
HSE inspector Peter Collingwood said that had the gratings been replaced or had the fitters not been permitted to remove them, the worker’s death would not have occurred.
"Another life has been lost because of the inability to plan and implement simple and basic precautions and employers need to understand that this is simply not acceptable," he remarked.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Boilers, Breaches, Floor Gratings, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Lost, Peter Collingwood, Platforms, Principal Contractor, Prosecution, Rafako, Safety At Work, Steel Structure, Walkways
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November 6th, 2008
A man who was permanently disabled after falling from a tower is to receive compensation for his injuries.
Robert Wilson, 67, was a self-employed contractor working on the refit of a shop in Enfield in 2006, Get Bracknell reports.
However, he fell from a scaffolding tower that did not have a fence around it, suffering head and chest injuries in the process.
Mr Wilson can no longer work and needs a specially adapted car.
E&F Joinery, the company responsible for the refit, was prosecuted for breaches of health and safety regulations.
The case will now appear in a civil court in order to decide how much compensation Mr Wilson will receive.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Amp, Bracknell, Breaches, Chest Injuries, Civil Court, Enfield, Fence, Health And Safety, Mr Wilson, Robert Wilson, Safety Regulations, Scaffolding
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October 17th, 2008
A recycling firm has been fined after a worker was injured during a fall at work.
The unnamed man was working for European Metal Recycling on Beevor Street in Warrington when the incident occurred in December 2007.
He had been attempting to move some refrigerator units and was standing on top of one of them in a curtain-sided trailer.
However, he overbalanced and fell ten feet to the floor, dislocating several fingers, breaking a wrist and fracturing a vertebra in his neck.
European Metal Recycling admitted to breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was ordered to pay £2,500, as well as £2,454.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Judith McNulty-Green said that 3,000 people were injured after falling from height in the workplace in 2007.
"All companies must assess the risks from work they are undertaking at height and ensure that the work is planned properly and appropriate measures are taken so that workers are not at risk of falling," she added.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: 000 People, Adequate Steps, Breaches, Curtain, Fingers, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Mcnulty, Measures, People Falling, Recycling, Refrigerator, Risk, Ten Feet, Unnamed Man, Vertebra, Warrington
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