Construction company Paul Freeman Limited has been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,263 after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The prosecution resulted from a serious accident after which builder Andrew Clifford was left paralysed from the chest down.
Mr Clifford was working on a house renovation in Derbyshire. At the time of the accident, he was installing, alone, first-floor joists when he slipped and fell from the first floor to the ground. Mr Clifford found he was unable to move but remained lying face down on the floor for around six hours before being found by a delivery driver. The incident led to a five month stay in hospital and the injuries mean he only has limited movement in his hands and arms.
Speaking about the incident, Mr Clifford said “The first thing I recall after my fall was landing on my head. From that point it was a very strange feeling as from when I landed, I felt no pain and I couldn’t understand why or that I couldn’t get up.
“My radio was on and I judged the time by the news. After an hour, I tried to move again and this carried on for around three hours. Eventually, I realised this was serious and I thought I’d better stay still as I didn’t want to cause further injuries.
“This wasn’t the type of street where people were walking past and as it started to get dark I was getting really worried. When I was found by the delivery driver I heard him shout out, ‘hello, hello, hello’. I think I fell between 9am and 9.30 and wasn’t found until 3pm.”
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Paul Freeman Limited did not ensure that work at height had been properly planned and therefore no measures had been implemented to prevent falls when the first floor was under construction. Mr Clifford had not received suitable instruction as to how the work should be done and was left to work it out on his own.
HSE inspector Sara Andrews said "My thoughts remain with Andrew and his family, whose lives have changed dramatically as a result of this preventable incident. This case highlights the importance of undertaking a thorough assessment of the risks for all work at height activities and the need to ensure that, where work at height cannot be avoided, suitable control measures are implemented to minimise the risk of serious injury.
“This is even more significant when lone working.”
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