Work accident news
09/01/2012

Shock fines for Cheshire construction firm

A Cheshire building company has been prosecuted in the wake of a construction accident that left one man with serious psychological damage.

The 42-year-old worker was thrown across a room and knocked unconscious by a 230 volt electric shock after cutting into a live cable.

Trafford Magistrates' Court heard that his employer had been refurbishing an old farm house at a development site in Greater Manchester.

The victim, a casual laborer at the site, was working in the cellar of the house when he severed the wire, in November 2010.

A work accident investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered a construction plan prepared by the company which identified live cables as being a potential danger.

However, steps were not taken to identify and isolate existing electrical cabling at the site before construction work began.

Investigators also learned the victim had been told the cable which electrocuted him did not have power running through it.

An HSE spokesman warned that construction site accidents of this nature had the potential to be life-threatening.

"Building firms carrying out work on sites where there are existing power supplies must make sure they are located and tested before starting work," he said after the hearing.

"It's astonishing that (the company) failed to do this."

Company bosses admitted breeching work regulations by failing to plan construction work safely, and failing to locate and check existing gas and electricity supplies.

The 2010 construction accident cost them £8,000 in fines and £2,095 in prosecution costs.