Company fined £1m as employee suffers serious injuries

A logistics company has been fined £1 million after an employee fell over 10 metres and sustained serious injuries.

A 31-year-old, from Winchester, had fallen through an open hole in the driver’s cab of a straddle carrier, landing on the concrete floor below.

The hole had been created by contractors that were replacing a glass floor, exposing the employee and other workers to the risk of falling from height. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the employer failed to ensure there was a safe system of work at its site.

The HSE investigation found the company had failed to ensure there was a system of work that ensured the replacement of the glass floor and routine maintenance work could be carried out safely at the same time. The company also failed to ensure there was a risk assessment in place and failed to implement its own policy for the use of permits to work whilst working at height.

HSE inspector Francesca Arnold said: “The hazards of working at height are well known and documented and this prosecution should now remind employers that a failure to manage and implement effective measures can have serious consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure. Information on working at height safely is freely available on HSE’s website.”

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This article was adapted from an article by The HSE which can be found here.