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Failure to properly plan and prepare for job ends in life changing injuries
Fred Lewis Scaffold Company Ltd has been ordered to pay £19,000 in fines and prosecution costs after a scaffolder fell 7m through a fragile roof whilst installing scaffolding at Stoke on Trent factory in April 2010.
Fenton Magistrates’ Court heard that the 28 year old father-of-three suffered serious fractures and other injuries which left him in hospital for six weeks. He will never be able to carry out any manual work again.
Survey, training and supervision failures identified
Fred Lewis Scaffold Company Ltd, whose registered office is in Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £19,000 costs.
HSE investigators found the company did not prepare or survey the job properly at the outset and failed to supervise or train its employees adequately. HSE inspector Alastair Choudhury said:
“This case highlights both the dangers of working on fragile roofs and the continual exposure of scaffolders to the risk of falling from height. It is very sad that a man with a family to support is now unable to work as a result of an entirely preventable incident.
If Fred Lewis Scaffold Company had carried out an adequate survey of this job before starting work and supervised and trained its employees properly, the risks involved would have been identified.
Guidance on working safely at height, which includes how to identify and mitigate risks, is available free from HSE. We also undertake major work programmes to communicate safe practices to groups at risk in the industry, including scaffolders.”