Wirral firm fined for safety breach
A WIRRAL construction company has been fined £127,000 plus costs for health and safety offences, after an accident left one of its employees paralysed for life.
Property People (NW) Ltd, based in Bromborough, Wirral, was yesterday fined £127,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £11,404 at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences.
The case was brought to court after employee Harold Roach fell ten feet through roof joists at a refurbishment site on Gertrude Street in Birkenhead. Mr Roach suffered serious injuries to his back from the fall, resulting in permanent paralysis.
Property People admitted to failing to ensure the safety of its employees and that it failed to report the injury to Health & Safety Executive, as legally required.
The incident occurred back in April 2005, while joists were being removed from the ceiling of an archway, but the company had failed to provide a safe platform for its employees to use.
Ian Betley, HSE Inspector, said: “The injuries Mr Roach sustained were extremely serious and he will need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“Working at height remains the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury. It should be managed by implementing and enforcing suitable and sufficient control measures.
“Companies are required by health and safety legislation to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of employees and others that may be affected by their work. In this case, a suitable platform should have been used to remove the joints from below, rather than from above. Had such steps been taken, this incident could have been avoided.”
