Fatal accident sees building firm prosecuted
CONSTRUCTION firm Peter Wright has been fined after the fatal accident of one of its employees.
The firm, which trades as PW Joinery and Building Services in Thirsk, was fined £10,000 with £19,000 costs.
The employee, Derek Wensley, was a self-employed labourer working for Peter Wright fell from an unsecured stepladder up to the first floor of a two-storey extension.
Teeside Crown Court heard that the stepladder he was on, carrying a bucket of mortar, was too short to reach the first floor.
The first floor was accessed by passing through a gap in the flooring between joists. Mr Wensley suffered fatal head injuries after he fell from the stepladder, which was too short.
The Health and Safety Executive said that the incident could easily have been avoided.
The HSE said Peter Wright failed to supervise the work appropriately, and had not carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, which would have discovered the faults with the site.
Mr Wright pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a single charge of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
HSE inspector Yolande Burns-Sleightholme said after the hearing: “The failure by Mr Wright to comply with his legal duty of care to those working on site led to this worker suffering fatal injuries. The potential for this was always present.
“All employers need to ensure that risks from height are fully considered. HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fall so far below the required standards.”
