June 2012 Accidents at Work

CONSTRUCTION FIRM FINED OVER WORKER'S FALL INJURIES

A construction firm has been sentenced for safety failings after a roofer was badly injured in a fall from scaffolding at a house in Trafford.

The employee fell approximately three meters from the scaffolding, which had no safety rail. He landed on a flat garage roof and sustained serious injuries to his right leg, including a dislocated knee and broken bones.

The Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident and immediately served six enforcement notices on his employer, stopping some work activities at the site and requiring improvements to be made.

The company pleaded guilty. It was fined £3,900 and ordered to pay £4,000 in prosecution costs.

DORSET BUILDER IGNORED ASBESTOS RISKS

A self-employed builder has been fined for demolishing a building without first carrying out an asbestos survey.

The court was told the builder has been employed to carry out the demolition of a house, before ground works were laid for a new property. The builder, Mr Pearson, was given a recent Asbestos Management Survey of one area of the house that had been carried out for the previous owner. The survey highlighted that there were 12 meters of asbestos in poor condition with two of three areas classified as 'high risk'.

However, Mr. Pearson went ahead and demolished the property without having a pre-demolition survey carried out on the entire property to ensure that all asbestos was identified and removed.

HSE began an investigation after a scientific officer visited the site and raised concerns about possible asbestos contamination.

Mr. Pearson pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. He was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,500.

Source www.hse.gov.uk

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