DC Kennedy homes fined £7.5k after worker’s death
A BOLTON house-builder has been fined £7,500 and ordered to pay another £7,500 in costs after one of its workers fell to his death.
DC Kennedy Homes has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Ian Smith, 64, was killed when he fell from an unstable ladder.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Mr Smith was working on a project to build six new semi-detached houses on Easedale Road in Bolton, in December 2007, when he fell five metres to the ground.
HSE’s investigation found that DC Kennedy Homes had allowed work to be carried out on the first and second floors of the house, before the stairs had been fitted.
The ladder, which was used to reach the second floor, had not been secured and was missing its rubber feet.
Polly Tomlinson, HSE principal inspector for Greater Manchester, said: “The ladder Ian Smith used was dangerous as the rubber feet were missing and it wasn’t tied to the wall to stop it slipping.
“But more importantly, Mr Smith should never have been expected to use a ladder in the first place. If the work had been planned properly, the stairs would have been fitted before work was carried out on the first and second floors of the house.”
