Prosecutions

6 January 2010 - A company has been fined a total of £16,000 after a worker fell five metres at a construction site in Tunbridge Wells.

A self-employed timber frame erector subcontracted to the company, was working at height on a self-build project when he fell some five metres to the bottom of an inadequately covered stairwell. He suffered multiple fractures, including his skull.

HSE prosecuted ECH Ltd - trading as Maple Timber Frames. The company pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 towards the HSE investigation costs.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-se-0601.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=5

7 January 2010 - A builder whose negligence put his employees and sub-contractors at risk was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £2,244 costs for using unsafe scaffolding.

Angus William Naylor pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Mr Naylor, from Driffield, East Yorks is a partner in the firm trading as WM E Naylor & Son.

The court heard that during a routine inspection on 29 April 2009, HSE witnessed people working on scaffolding that was unsafe and posed a risk of serious, if not fatal, injuries.

An HSE investigation revealed that between 2 April and 29 April 2009 employees working at a new housing build were put at risk of falls of up to 5 metres. The internal and external scaffolding was poorly erected and there was no edge protection in place.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-yh-00310.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=6