Workplace fall from height: worker paralysed

Fall from height: worker paralysed: £26,000 fine

Health and Safety Executive v Mager Homes Ltd (2017) Lincoln magistrates’ court, August 25

Statutory reference: s.3 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974 (HSWA).

The facts

· In December 2016 Mager Homes Ltd was contracted to complete a house build in Grimsby.

· A subcontracted joiner was working on the first floor level, installing joists and flooring. As he was laying a floorboard he stepped back, missed his footing and fell through a gap in the joists to the ground below.

· The worker suffered fractured vertebrae. He is paralysed from the chest down.

· The company had failed to provide workers with an adequate working platform. It had also failed to install edge protection or fall prevention to minimise the risks of falls.

The decision

The company was fined £26,000 plus £795 costs under s.3 of HSWA.