Bottle company fined over worker plunge

Date:

3 February 2010

Release No:

YH/035/10

A Leeds bottle manufacturer was today (3 February) fined after a worker sustained serious injuries when he plunged two metres onto a concrete floor.

Allied Glass Containers Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive over after the incident at a factory on South Accommodation Road, Hunslet, last January.

The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,173 costs by Leeds Magistrates after the court heard details of the fall.

Urgent maintenance work at the factory required a mezzanine floor to be opened up so faulty equipment could be removed and replaced.

A three-square-metre gap was created for equipment to be transferred using a block and tackle pulley system, which was subsequently left open in case adjustments were required before the maintenance team took a break.

One worker was called back to the upper level after a problem was identified, but he lost his footing and plunged through the gap, falling two metres onto a concrete floor below.

He sustained multiple injuries, including fractures to his back and skull, and bruising to his brain and kidney. He spent 11 days in hospital and has yet to return to work.

Allied Glass pleaded guilty to a Section 2(1) breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the incident, namely for failing to ensure the safety of workers from the risk of a fall from height.

HSE inspectors discovered there was no risk assessment for creating a hole in the floor, and no precautions were taken to prevent a fall.

The company has since made improvements to ensure the flooring need not be lifted for maintenance work of this type.

After the hearing inspector Paul Yeadon commented:

"Somebody could easily have died here. This incident was completely preventable with a simple risk assessment and a bit of common sense in planning the job.

"Allied Glass has lost a valued, experienced employee, who is still recovering from his injuries. He should never have been allowed to fall.

"We have continued to engage with the company and it's reassuring that lessons appear to have been learned, with improvements now in place to prevent future falls.

"We hope today's hearing serves as a reminder to all manufacturers that employee safety should be of paramount importance at all times. It shouldn't take an accident of this kind to prompt the implementation of safe-working procedures that should be in place regardless."

The prosecution of Allied Glass Containers Ltd comes just three days after HSE launched a its hard-hitting Shattered Lives campaign to reduce slips, trips and falls in the workplace. Visit the www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives website to find out more, and for practical advice and guidance.

Notes to editors

1. Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that: "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. The court also ordered Allied Glass Containers Ltd to pay a separate £15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses.
3. More information on health and safety can be found on our website http://www.hse.gov.uk/index.htm

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