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In the UK, accident claims in the manufacturing and construction industries are becoming increasingly common. Many of the injuries arise from workers falling from heights. A point of addressing the issue of working safely at height has been made by the Health and Safety Executive, but by failing to implement effective health and safety standards, companies continue to ignore their legal obligations.
At Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court this week, Klarius UK Limited, of Staffordshire, was ordered to pay costs of 1892 and fined 8000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 6(3). This states: “Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.”
61-year-old Brian Derbyshire, of Cheadle, Staffordshire, was carrying out routine maintenance on a machine used to make exhaust pipes on the 18th of August 2009. The job required Mr Derbyshire to climb a scaffold tower before stooping down to check the machine for an oil leak. Mr Derbyshire somehow lost his balance when he tried to stand up and fell two metres to the ground below.
Mr Derbyshire survived the incident, however he was left with serious injuries that included a fractured vertebra – an injury that is normally associated with whiplash claims.
As with many injury claims involving falls from height, Mr Derbyshire’s injuries were sufficient to keep him off work for over six weeks. In the present case, a guardrail may have prevented Mr Derbyshire’s fall, however, a subsequent Health and Safety Executive investigation revealed that Klarius UK Limited had neglected to install a guardrail on the edge of the scaffold tower because it was feared that doing so would interfere with access to the machine.
Speaking after the court hearing, Health and Safety Executive inspector, Lynne Boulton, said: “Barry Derbyshire did nothing wrong but, as a result of this fall, he’s been left with life-changing injuries. The company had a clear lack of appreciation of risk”.
“If Klarius UK Limited had used the right equipment and ensured there were guardrails on the scaffolding, it [the accident] would never have happened. Falls from height were responsible for almost 400 major injuries in the West Midlands in 2008/09, with 78 in Staffordshire alone.” Ms Boulton added. Evidently, despite the Health and Safety Executive’s efforts, many companies in the UK are not fully undertaking their responsibility to protect workers from falls.
Source: London2012Olympics.co.uk
At Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court this week, Klarius UK Limited, of Staffordshire, was ordered to pay costs of 1892 and fined 8000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 6(3). This states: “Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.”
61-year-old Brian Derbyshire, of Cheadle, Staffordshire, was carrying out routine maintenance on a machine used to make exhaust pipes on the 18th of August 2009. The job required Mr Derbyshire to climb a scaffold tower before stooping down to check the machine for an oil leak. Mr Derbyshire somehow lost his balance when he tried to stand up and fell two metres to the ground below.
Mr Derbyshire survived the incident, however he was left with serious injuries that included a fractured vertebra – an injury that is normally associated with whiplash claims.
As with many injury claims involving falls from height, Mr Derbyshire’s injuries were sufficient to keep him off work for over six weeks. In the present case, a guardrail may have prevented Mr Derbyshire’s fall, however, a subsequent Health and Safety Executive investigation revealed that Klarius UK Limited had neglected to install a guardrail on the edge of the scaffold tower because it was feared that doing so would interfere with access to the machine.
Speaking after the court hearing, Health and Safety Executive inspector, Lynne Boulton, said: “Barry Derbyshire did nothing wrong but, as a result of this fall, he’s been left with life-changing injuries. The company had a clear lack of appreciation of risk”.
“If Klarius UK Limited had used the right equipment and ensured there were guardrails on the scaffolding, it [the accident] would never have happened. Falls from height were responsible for almost 400 major injuries in the West Midlands in 2008/09, with 78 in Staffordshire alone.” Ms Boulton added. Evidently, despite the Health and Safety Executive’s efforts, many companies in the UK are not fully undertaking their responsibility to protect workers from falls.
Source: London2012Olympics.co.uk