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Construction firm handed six-figure penalty after a fatal accident

A construction company has been fined £300,000 plus £17,528 costs after one of its workers died after falling from a height.

 

This case highlights that neglecting health and safety can be costly for companies, and can contribute to fatal accidents.

An employee of London-based Formation Construction Limited plummeted to his death after falling 7.5 metres when using a concrete breaker. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that the operation of the concrete breaker had not been adequately planned and supervised, and this resulted in the work being carried out in an unsafe manner.

 

An inspector for HSE, Kevin Smith, said after the case was heard at Westminster Magistrate's Court:

“This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to implement suitable and sufficient measures to prevent falls.”

 

He said that the risks of falling from heights are common knowledge within the construction sector, and all companies in the industry should have health and safety procedures that prevent falls. Formation Construction had written safety procedures to prevent falling from heights, but in practice, they were absent in this case. He said that the company had not controlled risks at its construction site and this resulted in the fatal incident.

 

The HSE regulates workplace health and safety and issues information and guidance on reducing risks by the implementation of safe work practices and the use of PPE (personal protective equipment). Falls from height are the cause of more than a quarter (26%) of fatal accident injuries.


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