Safety Signs News

Fall at work leaves man with broken back

5th August 2010 | Health and Safety Signs

Posted by Ben Alexander.

A maintenance worker fell over two metres whilst working on a tower and fractured a vertebra that left him immobilised for over six weeks.

Klarius UK Ltd, a Staffordshire firm, has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The company was fined Ã‚Â£8,000 and ordered to face costs of Ã‚Â£1,892.

The man was maintaining a machine used to make exhaust pipes on a scaffold tower when he fell after bending down to find the source of an oil leak. It is though the worker could have overbalanced, causing him to fall.

It was found after investigation by the HSE that there was no protection rail on the edge of the scaffolding because it was thought it may limit access to the machines.

Lynne Boulton, an inspector for the HSE, said: "The company had a clear lack of appreciation of risk.

"If Klarius UK Ltd had used the right equipment and ensured there were guardrails on the scaffolding, it would never have happened."

Businesses may also think about installing warning signs in potentially dangerous working areas.
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