'Life-changing injuries' caused by worker's fall
February 10th 08:30 Health and Safety
A painting company in Sheffield has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £1,000 in costs after breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 resulted in "life-changing" injuries for one of its employees.
Charles Painting UK, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was handed the fine by Sheffield Magistrates Court after employee John Henderson fell through a "fragile" roof and received a number of fractures to his arms and legs.
Alison Crank, an inspector at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said: "There were no precautions in place at the time to prevent a fall through the fragile roof or from the roof edge and as a result Mr Henderson sustained long-term serious injury.
"Figures show that falls from height are a major cause of deaths at work in the UK, with more than 4,000 employees suffering a major injury as a result of a fall from height in 2008-09."
Following prosecution by the HSE, Charles Painting UK pleaded guilty to breaching section 9 (2) of the regulations.
