Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd has been fined £260,000 and ordered to pay £38,299 in costs after the worker, Mark Smith, fell 4.8 metres through an unprotected opening
Mark Smith was attaching straps to a water tank whilst preparing to move it to a lower floor of a water tower at the property, in order to paint the floor.
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 28 April 2016, Smith was working at Stone Gappe Hall, Lothersdale, Keighley, owned by Richard McAlpine, a director of the McAlpine group of companies.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mark Smith fell through an opening that did not have fixed edge protection.
Smith has sustained serious injuries including a right tibial shaft fracture, a distal fibular fracture, a fracture to the left patella, orbital and nasal fractures, lacerations to the face, a concessional head injury, injury to his ribs and he was hospitalised for nine days.
He continues to suffer from psychological damage and has been unable to return to work.
HSE inspector Paul Thompson, said: “Falls from height often result in life-changing or fatal injuries.
“In most cases, these incidents are needless and could be prevented by properly planning of the work to ensure that effective preventative and protective measures are in place such as edge protection or barriers built to the correct standard.
“This incident could have easily been prevented if the company had undertaken a thorough risk assessment and installed adequate edge protection around the opening to prevent falls.”
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 13 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Section 3 places general duties on employers and the self-employed to conduct their undertakings in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons other than themselves or their employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
