Two defendants handed prison terms over fall

Company, two directors and contractor sentenced

A company and two directors have been sentenced after an electrician fell two storeys through an unprotected stairwell in December 2016.

Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court heard how the workman was carrying out electrical work at premises in Nantwich, Cheshire. The property was owned and being refurbished by self-employed contractor Mr Steven Dixon.

The electrician was exiting the loft when he fell from a damaged staging board spanning the stairwell. He landed on the concrete floor below and suffered multiple fractures, a bleed on the brain and facial nerve damage.

Directors aware dangerous board

HSE investigators found that two directors of the company, Mr Karl Grice and Mr Sean Mullan, were fully aware, along with Mr Dixon, that the damaged board was being used as a makeshift ladder. Indeed, they had also used the damaged board.

The defendants were also aware of the unprotected edges in the stairwell. A risk assessment had not been carried out to identify the control measures needed.

Suitable safety measures were not implemented on site to protect workers on site.

• Green Generation Renewable Services Ltd – of Knowsley Industrial Park, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15 (2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,548.28
• Mr Karl Grice – of Highmarsh Crescent, Newton-Le-Willows, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15 (2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, by virtue of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison (suspended for 18 months) and fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.
• Mr Steven Paul Dixon– of Warmingham Grange Lane, Sandbach, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison (suspended for 18 months) and fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.
• Mr Sean Mullan – of Argyle Road, Garston, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15 (2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, by virtue of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Deborah Walker said:“This incident could have so easily have been prevented. Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related injuries and the risks associated with working at height are well-known. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary safety measures”