Personal injury news
Company fined for subcontractor's accident at work
A Wakefield company has been fined £110,000 after a subcontractor fell and injured himself in a serious accident at work.
Deborah Services of Wakefield had supplied scaffolding to Beechwood Development of Clarkson, Glasgow, when the near fatal accident happened in Edinburgh during May 2005.
Subcontractor Paul Laidlaw was working at a building site in Hawkhill Avenue when he sustained serious personal injuries in the scaffolding accident.
The accident at work occurred when two towers on a loading bay collapsed after being overloaded with a one tonne pallet of building blocks.
Mr Laidlow fell into the components of the scaffolding and suffered a severe head injury.
An investigation was launched by the Health and Safety Executive, which discovered that no information had been given on the safety of loading materials on to the structure.
Construction inspector, Jim Skilling, said, "This was an extremely serious accident which could have lead to a loss of life. The scaffolding tower was not designed and then overloaded and this led to its collapse. This accident was entirely preventable and the fines imposed today reflect the seriousness of this case."
Deborah Services were fined £110,000 and Beechwood Development of Clarkson was also fined £22,000 for the accident at work.
