CME Ceilings fined £5,000 for scaffolding fall
A MERSEYSIDE firm has been fined after a worker received life-threatening injuries when he fell from scaffolding at a sports centre.
CME Ceilings was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the scaffolding tower the company provided for the job was unsafe.
The firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.
A 43-year-old employee from West Derby, who has asked not to be named, suffered a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull and collapsed lung in the incident at Croxteth Sports and Wellbeing Centre on January 18.
His injuries also included a broken collar bone, ribs, wrist and fingers. He was in intensive care for two weeks and his brain injury has had a long-term impact on his personality. He has also been unable to return to work.
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that the firm had been hired to install a suspended ceiling at the sports centre on Altcross Road in Croxteth but had made a last-minute change to its plan.
It had originally intended to use a scissor lift to reach the ceiling but did not arrange for the equipment to be delivered to the site, and so used a scaffolding tower instead.
The court heard the brakes on the wheels of the scaffolding tower had not been applied to stop it moving and there was no edge protection, including boards and rails, around the work platform to prevent employees falling off. The man fell more than two metres to the concrete floor below when the tower started to move across the room as he was working.
The HSE investigation found the scaffolding tower had been made up of parts from several different manufacturers, all of which were in a poor or damaged condition.
HSE Inspector Mark Baker said: “One of CME Ceiling’s employees has suffered severe physical and mental injuries that will affect him for the rest of his life.
“The scaffolding tower the company provided simply wasn’t up to the job and his life was put in danger the minute he started to climb it. This case should act as a warning to firms not to cut corners and to make sure they use the right equipment for the job they’re doing.”
