Man brakes leg from 8ft fall

An investigation into the employers liability insurance of a textile retailer has been underway after a worker suffered serious injuries from a fall.

Dennis Hunter, 57 years old was working for Phoenox Textiles when the incident that left him in a plaster for 7 weeks occurred.

Mr Hunter was working on a 30-feet high shelving system. He was on the lower rack, cutting through boarding with a circular saw. The board tipped and he fell 8 feet to the concrete floor, breaking his leg. The heavy board then fell on top of him crushing his left ankle and badly bruising his face.

An investigation by the health and safety executive (HSE) found that the men were working unsupervised and had received no training to dismantle the shelving system safely. They had not been given any specialist equipment to enable them to work safely at height and the ladders supplied were not suitable or secured.

An Improvement Notice was served ordering Phoenox to properly assess risks to staff while working at height and implement suitable controls. A Prohibition Notice was also served halting any further dismantling work on other poorly-maintained racking at the site.

Phoenox Textiles Ltd pleaded guilty at Huddersfield Magistrates Court for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £3,056 costs.

HSE Inspector Jackie Ferguson said:

“Six workers were put at risk during the dismantling of this racking - they had absolutely no protection against falls from working at heights of up to 30 feet. Mr Hunter was fortunate not to have suffered even worse injuries, and to date remains unable to fully bear weight on his injured leg.”

Falls from height remain the biggest cause of workplace deaths. Working at height without the right equipment, training or systems is deemed unacceptable and extremely dangerous. The HSE will not hesitate to prosecute highlighting the effectiveness of employers liability insurance protection.