Company fined after worker's four-foot fall

Date:

15 February 2010

Release No:

704/W/09

A West Wales company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker fell more than four feet at its factory in Llandysul.

Tregroes Waffle Bakery Ltd was fined £1,750 and ordered to pay £1,374 costs and at a court hearing at Llanelli Magistrates' Court on Monday. The prosecution follows an incident in which a worker fractured a rib when she fell from a structural girder which was being used as access for cleaning.

Falls from height are among the main causes of injury in the workplace, and it is essential for employers to manage the risks, says HSE.

The employee was cleaning the side of a flour hopper at the company's factory in Llandysul when the incident occurred on 28 November 2008. She fell more than four feet, and suffered a fractured rib, bruising and a cut leg. She would have fallen nearly twice as far had she not landed on a bulk container directly below.

The company, based at Pencader Road, Pontwelly, Llandysul, Ceredigion, pleaded guilty to a charge under section 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

HSE Inspector Scott McKinnon said:

"The employee was exposed to unnecessary risk as there was nothing to stop her falling. Many serious - and sometimes fatal - injures are caused by falls from distances below head height.

"The company took immediate action to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future, and co-operated fully throughout the investigation. This prosecution should serve as a warning to all employers of the need to fully assess the risks from working at height and ensure proper access for elevated areas."

HSE's Shattered Lives campaign aims to remind employers of the dangers of slips, trips and falls in the workplace. More than 4,000 employees suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height in 2008/09. More information can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives

Notes to editors

1. Section 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states "Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury."
2. In addition to the fine and costs, the company was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

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