Construction worker injured in fall from height

A construction worker at a Hertfordshire refurbishment project was injured in a fall from height after he tumbled nearly five metres from scaffolding.

The unnamed sixty year old worker, whose name has been withheld from the media, had been employed by Stevenson’s P&H Ltd, the building project’s principal contractor, at the time of the incident. The refurbishment work was being undertaken on a Lancaster Avenue domestic property.

The incident left the man with several fractures, according to the man’s personal injury claims. The sixty year old construction worker has yet to recover completely from the fall, which occurred in late May of 2010, and may have to rely on a compensation award from a work accident claim to help pay for his recovery costs.

The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the incident, leading to inspectors discovering that Stevenson’s P&H neglected to fit suitable edge protection to the scaffolding. Failing to do so was seen as a contributory factor to the man’s injuries, HSE inspectors said, as the watchdog agency recently prosecuted the construction company at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court.

Stevenson’s P&H Ltd admitted to breaching health and safety regulations at the recent hearing, resulting in a a £20,000 fine. The construction company was also ordered to pay a total sum of £7,373 in court costs as well, but Stevenson’s may have to pay even more if the injured worker’s personal injury compensation claim is successful as well.

Falls from height can be especially debilitating, according to an HSE inspector’s statements in the wake of the court hearing. The inspector said that unsafe scaffolding often played a part in workers’ injuries, remarking that the man’s injuries could have been avoided all too easily if his employer had fitted the scaffolding with the proper safety features.