As one British employer recently discovered, worker injuries on the job come with a cost in more ways than one.
A Bedfordshire, Great Britain fitting company was fined for safety failings after a worker sustained a serious head injury in a preventable fall from a temporary scaffolding platform in Kensington.
Stewart Alazia, 51, from Paddington, London, fractured his skull and left cheekbone, and was left with bleeding to his brain as a result of the incident at Kensington Gate on in December of 2011.
He has since required regular assessments at a specialist brain injury clinic, and may need indefinite treatment for depression, blackouts and headaches linked to his trauma.
Business Prosecuted Following Investigation
As a result of the accident, employer D M Specialist Limited was prosecuted late last month by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation identified that not enough was done to prevent the fall.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Alazia was working to dismantle boards and other materials from a temporary platform spanning two scaffolding towers. He lost his balance and fell to the ground below, hitting his head and losing consciousness.
HSE found there was nothing in place to prevent or mitigate the fall, such as suitable edge protection or fall arrest equipment. The court was told that had such provisions been in place then the incident could have been avoided.
D M Specialist Limited, of Pegasus Mews, Stratton Business Park, Biggleswade, Beds, was fined more than $19,000 and ordered to pay more than $12,000 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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