Worker Injured After Falling from Height, Employer Fined
Glasgow Sheriff Court imposed a fine of 20,000 pounds on City Building (Glasgow) LLP, a construction company, after it admitted responsibility for violating Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The case that was decided on September 10, 2009, pertains to an apprentice joiner, who was seriously injured at the workplace because the company overlooked health and safely guidelines for those working at heights.
The accident occurred in June 2007, when the trainee was working at the construction site of a new primary School at Kyleakin Road in the Arden area of Glasgow. The 20-year-old worker fell though an opening in the floor as it was not properly edged or even covered with proper support and fixtures. The gap was just covered with a loose plywood sheet, which could not stand his weight and caused him to fall over four metres. The worker sustained serious neck and other bodily injuries in the fall.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector Annette Leppla, the accident was not just foreseeable but could have been easily prevented with the exercise of minimum caution. She said the worker was severely injured due to the company’s negligence in providing him with adequate safety at the workplace, especially when the risks of working at heights are notorious. It is a requirement to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment (Risk Assessment Courses) on all work undertaken where there is a risk of injury as a result of a fall from height.
She added that though the accident did not result in serious injuries to the worker, there was a high probability of the same. Leppla said the floor had been covered with loose plywood for several days, and the material was certainly not meant for covering floor openings.
