Two companies fined after worker fractures neck

The contractor was working on a refurbishment project that involved cutting through five floors to create a service riser shaft. Carpenters had built temporary wooden platforms under each of the five openings to collect debris. While working beneath one of these platforms, it gave way and collapsed on top of the worker. 

The worker suffered a fractured neck, back, and a bleed on his brain as a result of the incident. 

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fund that there was no design for the temporary platforms, no calculation for the safe level of loading, and an inspection form of the platform failed to identify any issues. The person who undertook the inspection was not a temporary works coordinator. 

The HSE also found that risk assessments and method statements were inconsistent, there was no supervision of he drilling team in the week leading up to the incident, and there was a lack of coordination and clarity as to who should be working where. 

The companies pleaded guilty to breaching The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 16(2) and The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 15(2).