Health and Safety Failings – Home builder fined after worker injured

Home builder fined after worker injured

Key Facts:

• A national home builder has been fined after an employee was injured in a fall from height.
• The worker was seriously injured when a platform he was working on gave way.
• The firm was fined £35,000 plus costs.

The Case:

An HSE investigation was launched into the health and safety practices of a national home builder after a bricklayer was injured after suffering a 3m fall.

Employed by the home builder, the bricklayer was carrying out work on a platform over a stairwell. The platform gave way, and the bricklayer fell three meters to the ground below, along with the 70 concrete blocks that were also stacked on the stairwell. The bricklayer suffered a fractured vertebrae, deep cuts and sever bruising.

The subsequent HSE investigation identified concerns with the home builder’s management of the temporary works. The platform had not been built to an approved design, nor had its stability been checked prior to use. It was not structurally sound and so the failed under the excessive weight it had been loaded with. It was the second time that the HSE has prosecuted the home builder over safety failings with temporary works.

The case was heard at Reading Crown Court on 15 May, where the home builder pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. They were fined £35,000 plus costs of £14,520.

What the HSE had to say:

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Dominic Goacher said

‘The need to plan, manage and monitor temporary works on construction sites is well documented, yet despite this, and the earlier prosecution, Bellway Homes failed to implement an effective system for monitoring platforms and the like throughout the lifetime of the Mitford Fields site.

Bellway Homes is the fourth largest house builder in the UK and it would be expected the company has enough knowledge and experience to have been able to put proper controls in place.

Mr Kersey was left in considerable pain as a result of the fall, but could easily have been killed, either by the impact or the concrete blocks as they rained down around him.’

Find out more about CDM regulations here >>

Find details of our safety training courses here 

Follow us on twitter: @safety_matters

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if we can help you find a solution to your safety matters.