Prosecutions
The labourer was working on the build of a large domestic property at Incline Way, Saundersfoot. Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court heard that on 25 March 2010, the labourer was instructed to remove a concrete block that had been placed across a doorway. As he proceeded to throw the block, he fell backwards on to the balcony and then seven metres to the ground below.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the three-storey house was being built without scaffold or any form of fall prevention.
The company and its director had failed to ensure that work at height was properly planned and supervised. They also failed to ensure that it was carried out in a safe manner.
The labourer spent six days in Morriston Hospital in Swansea where he underwent surgery to pin the bone in his left heel and was in a plaster cast for approximately ten months. Still in constant pain and unable to walk on uneven ground without risking a fall, he is due to undergo further surgery to prevent any further damage to his foot, but his career in the construction industry is over.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,376.25.
The director also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £4,000, with costs of £2,376.25. He is also disqualified from acting as a company director, managing or in any way controlling a company for at least two years.
Speaking after the hearing, the HSE inspector said:
"Falls from height are the single biggest cause of fatalities in the construction industry. If work is carried out at height then all appropriate measures should be put in place to reduce the risk of falling.
"The labourer is still a young man who's life has been turned upside down after receiving significant long-term injuries in this incident. He is no longer able to do any of the simplest things that many people take for granted, like playing with his children or going for a walk in the countryside with his partner.
"This is a typical example of high risk work being conducted in an unsafe manner. Had scaffolding been put in place, this incident could so easily have been prevented."