Work accident leads to prosecution of Walker Group (Scotland)

A work accident has led to the prosecution of Walker Group (Scotland), which was fined £8,000.

It pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 after a labourer broke two ribs in a fall from the edge of a temporary staircase.

David Tourish, 38, was working for the firm on a building site in Ravelston Dykes, Edinburgh, when the incident occurred.

He and another colleague were carrying a door upstairs when he slipped off the edge of the staircase and fell around three metres to the landing below.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work was not planned properly and an adequate risk assessment had not taken place.

Alastair Brown, a HSE inspector, said: "This was a serious incident that could have been very much worse. It was also entirely avoidable."

Recently, Ploughcroft Building Services was fined after a roofer fell through a skylight, leaving him with injuries to his neck and back.

Published by Rob Stanworth