9 May 2008 NE/185/08

Building firm fined £10,000 after worker injured in fall

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers to ensure they take appropriate measures to protect employees from falls, after a Sunderland building firm was fined £10,000 today following an incident in which one of its workers was injured.

Murray Construction and Development Ltd, of Pottery Road, Southwick, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to a breach of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The case related to an incident on May 22, 2007 at Andes House, Cleadon Village, South Tyneside where one of its employees was injured when he fell 2.8 metres from rafters onto a concrete floor.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court fined the company £10,000 and ordered it to pay a compensatory award of £5,000 to the injured worker, £1,414 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Three employees of Murray Construction & Development Ltd were working on the construction of a new house and moving one of the rafters to accommodate a roof window. One man was standing on a joiner’s stool to do this and lost his balance; he fell through a gap onto the concrete floor 2.8 metres below him. He suffered serious injuries and has been unable to return to work since the incident.

HSE Inspector Michael Brown, who investigated the incident, said:

"Companies must assess the risks from work that they are undertaking at height and make sure that suitable measures to prevent a fall are in place. All work at height should be planned, organised, supervised and carried out by competent persons.

"They should take steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks, choose the right work equipment and take collective measures to prevent falls, such as guardrails and working platforms, before other measures which may only mitigate the distance and consequences of a fall, such as nets or airbags, or which may only provide personal protection from a fall. Had this happened this worker may not have been injured."

The HSE is currently running a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the devastating consequences of falls, slips and trips in the workplace. Called "Shattered Lives" the construction industry is one of the main areas being targeted. The figures are alarming – every week, one person dies from a slip, trip or fall at work with another 3,750 people seriously injured last year alone.

Notes to editors

1. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "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."
2. HSE’s Shattered Lives campaign offers guidance to employers and employees in the construction, building and plant maintenance and food manufacturing and retail industries where the incidence of injuries resulting from slips, trips and falls is highest. For more information on the 'Shattered Lives' campaign please visit www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives/index.htm or call InfoLine on 0845 3450055.
3. The maximum fine for a single breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act in the lower court is £20,000.

Public enquiries:

Call HSE's InfoLine, Tel: 08701 545500, or write to: HSE InfoLine, Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG.

Press enquiries (Journalists only):

to Jackie Woods: Tel: 0191 202 3604; or Jill Barber: Tel: 0191 202 3609.

Issued on behalf of the HSE by COI NEWS and PR.
TEL: 0191 202 3604/3609
HSE information and press releases can be accessed on the Internet: http://www.hse.gov.uk/