One cable installer from Hartlepool may be considering the bringing of an accident claim against his employer after he suffered severe spinal injuries from falling eight metres to the ground from a scissor lift.
The Hartlepool worker, who has requested that his name not be released by the media, had been working with two other employees at the time of the incident that could lead to a personal injury compensation case against his employer. He had been working to connect cables to overhead trays while working in a scissor lift about eight metres above the ground.
Unfortunately the cable joiner was knocked from the scissor lift when the trays collapsed. The man suffered serious injuries to his spine from the fall which has resulted in paralysis from his waist downwards and may result in a personal injury claim being made against the man’s employers.
Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd, the man’s Hertfordshire-based employer, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. The firm was called into Lewes Crown Court and ordered to pay a fine of £120,000 for their part in the man’s accident. Skanska Rashleigh was also ordered to pay £81,297 in court costs as well.
In a statement issued after the hearing, one HSE inspector stated that the fine was particularly high in order to reflect the serious nature of the breaches to the Health and Safety regulations committed by the firm. He also stated that the company had failed in their duty of offering adequately safe working conditions after employing people to conduct work in a hazardous position.
With4,000 injuries and 12 fatalities in 2010 alone, falls from height are one of the largest causes of severe personal injuries to workers in the UK currently.