Firm fined after worker hurt falling from ladder
A DURHAM worker broke his arm and leg falling more than four metres (13ft) from a ladder in a North school hall.
Lee Rutherford, 23, fractured his right leg and arm, and shattered his elbow in the fall at Filey Junior School in North Yorkshire in June last year.
Now, his employer, Hedley Solutions Ltd, has been fined £10,000 after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Scarborough Magistrates’ Court heard Lee was installing audio visual equipment with a colleague, and was using a set of combination ladders to reach the hall ceiling to feed a cable through.
While Lee was at the top of the ladder, it slipped and he fell to the floor.
Lee needed reconstructive surgery and also developed serious side-effects in his left shoulder.
The HSE found the ladders had not been secured and there was no effective anti-slip device or any other measure in use to provide stability.
It was also found the work had not been properly assessed or planned by Hedley Solutions Ltd.
More suitable access equipment, such as a tower scaffold or mobile elevated working platform, could have been used.
Hedley Solutions Ltd, of Millenium House, Dukesmead Werrington, Peterborough, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £1,296 in costs after admitting a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the hearing, Lee said: “I still get a lot of pain in my arm, there’s a lot of scarring from where I had to have surgery and skin grafts to rebuild my arm and I don’t have the same amount of movement as I used to.
“I have managed to go back to work, though I’m no longer with Hedley, but things are not the same. No one will ever understand how a fall from a ladder will affect the rest of their life. The constant pain and lack of movement I now have has affected me in so many ways.
“You need to stop and think before using an extension ladder – always think of yourself first.”
HSE Inspector Victoria Wise added: “This young man suffered serious injuries from which he is still recovering.
“The real tragedy is that it could so easily have been avoided if Hedley Solutions Ltd had properly assessed and planned the work in advance.
“Falling from height remains one of the biggest causes of death and major injury in the workplace.
“It is crucial that employers properly assess and plan any task that involves working from height and use the most appropriate work equipment.”
Hedley Solutions Ltd declined to comment when contacted by the Sunday Sun.