Hector Maclean, a 25-year-old model and designer, who has designed dresses worn by the Duchess of Cambridge, was severely injured when he fell through a set of lift doors and down the lift shaft, a height of 24 feet.
The incident occurred at a Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) property. The lift shaft was vacant and locked shut, however left unmarked. When Mr Maclean leaned on the doors, they opened inward, leading to his fall.
Mr Maclean broke both legs and was prevented from working as a model and from attending his classes as a result.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that RADA had failed to carry out a basic risk assessment on a vacant lift shaft at its site with access from the street.
RADA pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £1,266 in costs for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
