Carpenter injured falling from a ladder

A worker suffered serious injuries carrying materials up a ladder during a loft conversion  - 14th June 2008

A carpenter in Rhondda suffered serious injury at work after a fall from height which could have ended his career.

The worker was carrying an 8ft by 4ft 25kg piece of chipboard on an extension ladder during a loft conversion, when he fell causing a broken wrist, broken ankle and injuries to his face where the chipboard struck him after the fall.

His employers had been given advice previously by the HSE but had still failed in their health and safety duties to provide a safe working method for transporting materials from ground level up to the loft.

His company Allied Welsh Ltd, of Del Guerra Court, who specialise in loft conversions pleaded guilty at Bridgend Magistrates’ Court to a charge under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,600.

The HSE promotes its 'Shattered Lives' campaign in an attempt to highlight the dangers of slips, trips and falls in the workplace and the serious consequences it can have on people’s lives.