Construction company fined after worker injured in fall from height

A construction company has been fined £24,000 after a worker fell from a ladder during the refurbishment of a handbag factory. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The worker was part of a refurbishment project that involved converting an existing domestic property and a former handbag factory into a single dwelling. This involved constructing a new concrete staircase between the first and ground floors, and temporary timber framework was required to construct it. The worker was constructing the framework, and whilst standing on the top of a stepladder and using a gas-powered nail gun, the worker fell approximately 1.65 metres to the floor below, sustaining multiple serious injuries, including crush injuries to both elbows requiring several surgeries, a fractured forearm, dislocated wrists, and injuries to his right leg and left knee.

An investigation by the HSE found that the company had failed to implement a safe system of work for working at height throughout the construction of the staircase, along with failings throughout the side relating to working from height, inadequate edge protection, incorrectly assembled tower scaffolds, staircases without edge protection, and uncontrolled use of ladders. This was despite the company previously being issued with a Prohibition Notice.