Poor planning leads to accident injury prosecution in Norfolk

A chicken processing firm in Norfolk has been fined after an employee was left seriously injured due to inadequate safety planning.

Peter Sherwood, 61, was carrying cladding boards up an unsecured ladder at Crown Chicken Ltd's factory when the ladder slipped and he fell approximately 2.5 metres to the concrete floor.

Mr Sherwood sustained broken vertebrae in his lower spine and was unable to work for six months.

Crown Chicken Ltd admitted to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found that the accident occurred because of inadequate planning and ladder safety training.

The firm was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000.

Saffron Turnell, HSE inspector, stated: "Mr Sherwood was taken from his usual duties and asked to carry out a task for which he was neither properly trained nor supervised."

A third of all reported fall-from-height accidents involve ladders and falling from a ladder accounts for 14 deaths on average per year and 1,200 major injuries.

Consequently, comprehensive health and safety training and planning is vital to protect UK workers.

Published by Tessa Jones