A Wolverhampton firm has been fined after a worker was
seriously injured when he fell from a staircase during the construction of a
new cinema.
The 52-year-old man from Leigh, Greater Manchester, who has
asked not to be named, suffered a broken collarbone in the incident at New
Square in West Bromwich on 31 May 2013.
He was working for Ereconomic Construction Limited, which
was prosecuted on 9th June 2014 by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure sufficient measures were in place to
prevent or mitigate the fall.
Sandwell Magistrates’ Court heard that Ereconomic
Construction Limited had been contracted by Odeon Cinemas to fit out the new
complex. The injured man was a sub-contractor employed by Ereconomic
Construction Limited to install the balustrades on a staircase within the
cinema’s lobby.
There was some delay in the installation of the balustrades,
which meant that the temporary edge protection at the side of the staircase at
level one was still in place when a floor system was being installed.
To allow the installation of the floor, the temporary edge
protection was removed. However, there was nothing implemented in the interim
to prevent falls over the side of the staircase.
While attempting to retrieve some tools from the first floor
landing, the worker fell one metre over the side of the staircase. He was
unable to work for three months as a result of the injuries he sustained.
Ereconomic Construction Limited of Salisbury Street,
Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 6(3) of the Work at
Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,033 in
costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Amy Kalay said:
“Ereconomic Construction Limited failed in its duty of care to the
sub-contractor, who sustained a serious injury in a wholly preventable
incident.
“Falls are the single biggest cause of work-related deaths
in the UK, and it is imperative that all work at height activity is subject to
a high degree of management and control.
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