Life Changing Injuries | Company Fined | Kangs Health and Safety Regulatory Solicitors
Cardiff Magistrates’ Court has imposed a substantial fine on a Doncaster based company (‘the company’) which pleaded guilty to breaches of Health & Safety Regulations resulting in a boy falling from a great height and suffering life changing injuries.
Amandeep Murria of Kangs Solicitors sets out the circumstances.
The Circumstances | Kangs Solicitors Health and Safety Team
- The company had erected scaffolding at a block of flats located in Wales.
- Two boys located a ladder with scaffolding and one of them climbed to a height of at least ten metres. As he reached the top platform of the scaffolding, the ladder slipped which resulting in him losing his balance and falling to the ground.
- As a result of the fall, the boy suffered from multiple life changing injuries.
- An investigation was undertaken by The Health & Safety Executive which found the company had failed to put in place measures to prevent access to the scaffolding, especially by children attending the nearby school.
The Relevant Law | Kangs Regulatory Law Advisors
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (‘the Act’) provides:
3 General duties of employers and self-employed to persons other than their employees.
(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.
The Hearing | Kangs Health and Safety Solicitors
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 (1) of the Act and was:
- fined £160,000
- ordered to pay Prosecution Costs of £22,310
An Inspector from the Health & Safety Executive, Michael Batt, was quoted as saying:
“The death or injury of a child is particularly tragic and a lot of thought must go into securing construction sites. Children do not perceive danger as adults do. The potential for unauthorised access to construction sites must be carefully risk assessed and effective controls put in place.
“This incident could have been prevented by removal of the ladder completely or installing an appropriately sized ladder guard to cover the full width of the rungs.”
How Can We Help? | Kangs Safety At Work Solicitors
Our specialist solicitors are able to provide advice and assistance throughout the entire criminal process, from the initial intervention by the Health and Safety Executive through to enforcement, interview under caution and ultimately the defence of any ensuing criminal prosecution.
Who Can I Contact For Help? | Kangs National Criminal Defence Solicitors
Please feel free to contact our team through any of the solicitors named below who will be happy to provide you with some initial advice and assistance.
Hamraj Kang
hkang@kangssolicitors.co.uk
07976 258171 | 020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
John Veale
jveale@kangssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396
Amandeep Murria
amurria@kangssolicitors.co.uk
020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
Helen Holder
hholder@kanngssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396
