Company managers have been cautioned about health and safety after a labourer was left brain-damaged following a fall.
Alan Hind was working on a building site demolishing a structure in Cumbria when he fell six metres and landed on a concrete floor, leaving him with 16 skull fractures, an injured kidney and partially blind and deaf.
He has been unable to work in the two years since the accident, as part of his brain had to be removed due to the trauma.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) construction inspector David Charnock said the injuries were a consequence of the employers’ actions.
"Carrying out work at height can result in serious injury and even death if not properly planned. Steps must be taken to prevent people falling and everyone involved in the work must be properly trained," he added.
Mr Hind’s former employers, EJ Murray (Steel Structures) and Murray Structures, have been ordered by the HSE to pay £13,000 in fines after admitting they failed to ensure his safety.
Between 2008 and 2009 over 4,000 people were seriously injured by falls and the HSE revealed that this is the most common cause of death in the workplace.
Posted by Colette Paxton