Work at height issues highlighted by HSE

Employers have been reminded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the dangers that need to be addressed when working from height.

The HSE prosecuted Paramount Scaffolding Ltd and its director Luke Jessup, both of Gillingham, Kent, on November 6th after one of the company's employees suffered life-changing injuries in a scaffold fall.

Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court heard that the worker, who was untrained, fell 2.5 metres from a scaffold platform while it was being dismantled.

The man from Rainham, in Kent, was passing boards down to another employee when he lost his footing. The resulting fall led to him suffering severe head injuries, while he also needed surgery to remove the frontal lobe of the brain.

As well as spending many weeks in hospital recovering from his injuries, the man, who does not wish to be named, has been told he is unlikely to be able to work again.

HSE inspector Melvyn Stancliffe commented after the hearing: "What happened that day was totally preventable if simple working methods had been followed and the untrained workers had been more closely and better supervised to ensure they carried out the work safely."
 

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