Health and Safety Executive
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Construction Company fined after contractor receives life changing injuries

A Lincoln based Construction Company, specialising in fitting mezzanine floors were prosecuted after a contractor fell onto a concrete floor.

Guildford Crown Court heard that M & L Installers Ltd were contracted to install a mezzanine floor at a factory in Sunbury on Thames, Surrey. The design included a hole in the mezzanine floor where a lift was due to be installed.

A contractor who was working on the floor fell just over 3.5 meters and suffered life threatening injuries, when he stepped backwards through the hole, on 13 January 2015. He was hospitalised for 2-months after receiving a server brain injury any has not been able to work since.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the company failed to guard the hole for the lift or board it up preventing anyone from falling through.

M & L Installers Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations, Regulation 6(3) and were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £9165.56 costs.

HSE Inspector, Amanda Huff, commented after the hearing “The contractors injuries were life changing and he could have easily have been killed. This serious incident and devastation could have been avoided if basic safe guards had been put in place”.

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ link to external website link to external website
  3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
Channel website: http://www.hse.gov.uk

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