Pages On: Falls from Heights
Workplaces hold a duty of care to their staff to prevent accidents. Falls from heights are some of the most dangerous and preventable forms of accident at work. If your employer has failed in their duty of care to you, and you have suffered a fall from a height, it may be lucky if you walk away with your life. They are the top cause of fatal injury at work, and are a blight in construction and agriculture industries. If you or a loved one has suffered a workplace injury and are not at fault, you may be entitled to claim personal injury compensation for the employer negligence.
Mystery Ski lift fault leaves eight injured
Posted: 28 August 2014
Posted in: Falls from Heights, Public Place Accidents
After eight people were injured on a ski chair-lift in Aberdeenshire, the operators will not face prosecution. The accident happened in February of last year at the Lecht Ski Centre in Corgarff in Aberdeenshire. It was heard that while some skiers were left stranded in the air for over an hour, others fell about 20ft (6m) to the ground. Eight people, including five children, were hospitalised, and a further 30 people required rescuing. It was heard that a connecting mechanism on the chair-lift became damaged, causing some of the chairs to…
Read MoreNo procedure to avoid accident that lead to farmers death
Posted: 23 June 2014
Posted in: Falls from Heights, Head and Brain Injuries, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death
Following the death of well-known farmer William Davidson (62), a sheriff has ruled that there was no procedure in place to prevent the workplace accident from happening. Mr Davidson died in January 2013 after he fell from a silage pile at his farm near Moffat. He had been pulling back plastic sheeting when the accident happened, causing him to fall from the 16ft silage pile. It was heard that Mr Davidson’s feet had become tangled in the sheeting. Mr Davidson was a well-respected man in the farming world, having been a director…
Read MoreAberdeen Firms Fined for Worker's Serious Fall Through Floor
Posted: 21 April 2014
Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Spine & Back Injuries, Workplace Injuries
Two construction firms based in Aberdeen have been fined for serious safety failings after a worker fell and fractured his spine in several places.The worker had been replacing a floorboard over a hole in the first floor of a hotel in Aberdeen when he fell nearly four metres to the ground floor. Having suffered eight fractures and two broken ribs, he had to undergo physiotherapy to learn how to walk again and will have permanent damage to his lower back.Following in investigation into the incident, the Health and Safety Executive…
Read MoreInquiry date for farmer death
Posted: 15 April 2014
Posted in: Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death
A fatal accident inquiry has been scheduled following the death of a farmer in Dumfries and Galloway. The 62-year-old livestock farmer, Willie Davidson, had been working at Poldean Farm near Moffat when the accident happened in January of last year. He died as a result of falling from a 30ft (9m) shed. The Crown Office has announced that an inquiry is to be held into the circumstances of the workplace death of Mr Davidson. He had been a well-known figure in the farming community of southwest Scotland, having played an active role…
Read MoreSolar panel firm fined for worker fall
Posted: 12 March 2013
Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries
A Dorset company specialising in the installation of solar panels has been fined for safety failings after a worker fell from a roof in Hampshire. The employee stepped through a roof light and fell three more than metres before landing on a raised platform. This broke his fall and he managed to escape uninjured. The company was installing 68 solar panels on the flat roof of the building over three days. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) established that a scissor lift had been provided for employees…
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