Worker suffers electrical burns in mechanical digger accident
A mans employer and a local council are prosecuted for failing in their health and safety responsibilities after he suffered burns in an accident - 12th January 2009
A man suffered serious burns in an
accident at work while he was breaking concrete
using a mechanical breaker so a lamppost could be
installed, when he struck a 132Kv live electrical
cable.
The man suffered his
injuries while
working on the Old Bethnal Green Road in Tower
Hamlets, on the 3rd October 2005, while his
employers were being contracted to do work for the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) who investigated the
incident found that both his employers and the
council had failed to provide service plans which
would have identified where the power cables were
situated, and had failed to
provide adequate supervision on the work being
carried out.
Tower Hamlets Council were found guilty of breaching
section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act
etc. 1974, which states that: "It shall be the duty
of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such
a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably
practicable, that persons not in his employment who
may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to
their health or safety." They were fined £15,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £39,089 at the City of
London Magistrates’ Court.
The mans employers, T. Cartledge Ltd pleaded guilty
to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety
at Work Act etc. 1974, which states that: "It shall
be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as
is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and
welfare at work of all his employees." They were
fined £18,000 with costs of £14,555.
