Companies prosecuted after a worker injured in a fall
Two companies have been prosecuted after a worker fell from a height of more than ten metres - 6th July 2009
Two companies have been prosecuted after a
workplace accident in which a worker suffered
serious injuries in a fall
from height.
The man's accident at work
happened on the 5th July 2007, while he was
replacing a gearbox in a condenser unit.
He had a
fall from a height of over 10 metres landing on
a pallet of copper pipes, suffering serious injuries
which included a punctured lung, broken ribs and a
hernia.
At Birmingham Crown Court his employer, Hansen
Transmissions Ltd who were being contracted to carry
out the work pleaded guilty to breaches of the
Health and Safety at Work Act, and were fined
£70,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,000.
The company the work was being carried out for,
Veolia Environmental Services Birmingham, also
pleaded guilty to Health and Safety breaches in that
they failed to monitor the work being carried out
for them, and they were fined £100,000 and ordered
to pay costs of £22,000.
The investigating
Health and Safety Executive Inspector said after
the hearing: "The system used by HTL was plainly
unsafe - men, working 10m and more up in the air,
were manoeuvring bulky plant using inappropriate
methods, on and above an inadequate working
platform, with markedly inadequate protection from
the drop beneath."
