Worker Severely Injured After Falling Through Makeshift Plywood Floor
September 23rd, 2009A 20-year-old apprentice joiner suffered serious neck and other injuries when he fell from the upper floor of an under-construction building in June 2007. He was working on the building of a new primary School in Kyleakin Road in the Arden area of Glasgow.
In the case presented before the Glasgow Sheriff Court, City Building (Glasgow) LLP accepted the charge of violating Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. On September 10, 2009, the Court asked the company to pay 20,000 pounds as fine.
The accident took place due to the company’s failure to maintain suitable safety standards at the work site. An unfastened piece of plywood was placed over an opening on the floor, which cracked under the pressure of the worker’s weight, causing him to fall over four metres on the floor below. The company used fragile plywood as a gap covering where sturdy material should have been used for the purpose.
Annette Leppla, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector, has cautioned companies requiring employees to work at heights to take extra safety measures for their workers to prevent such accidents from reoccurring. She said the incident could have easily been avoided had the employers considered the dangers of the job and made suitable arrangements for the safety of their workers (Working at Height Courses).
Leppla criticized the company for using plywood to cover up the opening instead of using better and sturdy material suitable for the purpose, and added it was fortunate the accident did not result in the worker’s death or permanent disability.
