Building firm McAloon Construction Ltd, have been fined a total of £4,426 at Enniskillen Magistrates Court this month for failing to provide a safe system of work for their employees. The company, who pleaded guilty to the offence, were prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1978/1039.
The court heard that on 5 September 2005, Aidan Carroll was working on the construction of a four storey extension to the rear of an existing building at High Street, Enniskillen. While constructing the floor at first floor level, using T-beams and concrete blocks, Mr Carroll fell 3.71 metres onto the concrete below. He sustained a distal radius fracture to his right wrist and cuts to his head and legs. A witness told the court that the system of work implemented to construct that section of floor did not make any provision for preventing falls from height.
Speaking after the prosecution, Brian Pryce, Construction Inspector with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) commented, "This serious incident could easily have resulted in a worker being killed. The system of work employed in this incident was unacceptable. Falls from height at work is the number one killer in the construction industry."
