Two companies fined £44,500 after man paralysed in fall at work

Date:

20 October 2008

Release No:

HSE/LON/009/08

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging employers to ensure safe working at height after a man was left paralysed from the waist down following a fall of two storeys at a construction site in central London.

T. J. Myles & Co (Contractors) Ltd of Ickenham, Hillingdon, was found guilty of breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They have been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,339.20 at City of London Magistrates Court.

Crispin & Borst Ltd, of Watford, was found guilty of breaching section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They have been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,155.20 at City of London Magistrates Court.

HSE Inspector Lisa Chappell said: "The risks of working at height are well-known, yet falls from height remain a common cause of death in the construction industry.  The victim suffered serious injuries, which have left him paralysed, but this incident could well have resulted in his death.  This case again highlights the absolute necessity for the creation and implementation of a site-specific assessment of work at height that is fit for purpose in order to identify appropriate measures to prevent injury."

On the 11 January 2007, the victim involved in the incident, was working on a construction site at Grosvenor Street, London W1, where two buildings were being converted into one. A steel structure was being installed to support the building and being lifted into place by a hoist from the ground floor.

Whilst part of the structure was being moved it became stuck and when freed moved very quickly out of place. The individual was struck and dragged through a hole in the floor, falling 7.3 metres down two storeys to land on the ground floor and as a result is now paralysed from the waist down. 

Notes to editors

1. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that an employer should ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees.
2. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that an employer should conduct their undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment who may be affected thereby, are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
3. http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm
4. http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR London.