January 2013 Accidents at Work

Hull firms in court for worker's death in roof fall

Two Hull firms and a company director have been sentenced for joint safety failings relating to the death of a worker who plummeted more than eight metres through a fragile roof light while cleaning gutters.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted director Shaun Cavill, his company Cavill Property Maintenance Ltd, and Garthwest Ltd. Mr Jackson had been hired by Cavills and director Shaun Cavill to clean the gutters and roof of Garthwest's factory. The workers were not given any safety equipment, no protection measures were provided to reduce the risk of falling, and neither man had been trained to work safely at height.

Mr Jackson was on the roof working when his colleague heard a crash and turned to see him fall through a fragile factory roof light to the concrete floor more than eight metres below.
Cavill Property Maintenance Ltd was fined £65,000. Garthwest Ltd was fined £50,000 with costs of £19,300. Shaun Cavill was fined £25,000.

Cardiff building company fined for ignoring safety risks

A Cardiff building company has been fined for ignoring a safety notice and exposing workers and members of the public to serious risk of injury.

Cardiff Magistrates' Court heard that Rimo Construction Ltd allowed unsafe work at height at a house in Rumney in June 2012.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that employees were working from scaffolding around the property, and on the roof, without adequate protection to prevent them from falling.

Part of the scaffolding was removed but they continued working without guard rails until a HSE inspector visited the site the following day after a local resident raised concerns about safety.
Rimo Construction was immediately served with a Prohibition Notice preventing any further work on the scaffold or the roof of the property. However the following day neighbours on both sides of the property saw the men continuing to work in exactly the same way.

Rimo Construction Ltd was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Sections 2(1), 3(1) and 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Source www.hse.gov.uk

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