Aberdeen Firms Fined for Worker’s Serious Fall Through Floor
Posted: April 21, 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 (HSA) found that both of the firms failed to take steps to prevent personal injury caused by falling a distance. Only a few weeks prior to the accident, one of the firms had been warned to ensure that holes in floors were adequately guarded to prevent anyone from falling through following a site inspection.
Both companies pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, incurring fines of £45,000 and £30,000. Following the case, HSE Principal Inspector, Isabelle Martin, said:
“Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace deaths, and there is no excuse for employers failing to protect workers who may be at risk from falls from open and unprotected edges, whether in floors or roofs, or any high level.”
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