Firm fined following 5-metre fall
The HSE reported on 6th January 2010 that it has fined Maple Timber Frames of Lancashire £16,000 (plus £5000 to the HSE for investigation costs) after a worker fell five metres at a construction site in Tunbridge Wells. The unnamed subcontractor suffered extensive injury from the fall on 18th November 2008, including multiple fractures, some to the skull.
A self-employed timber frame erector subcontracted to the company, was working at height on a self-build project at Warwick Park, Tunbridge Wells, when he fell some five metres to the bottom of an inadequately covered stairwell. He suffered multiple fractures, including his skull. A colleague working with the injured man was unharmed in the incident.
The company was charged under sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which demand that employers ensure the safety of their workers and do not expose them to undue risks.
The H&S Inspector for the case, Melvyn Stancliffe, criticised the ‘reckless breaches' made by Maple Timber Frames, lamenting the contractors injuries and the fact that they could have easily been avoided by adhering to guidelines.