08.09.2011

Fall at Olympic shopping site

A man working for a shop fitting contractor has been seriously injured after falling from a step ladder this week at the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre which is now nearing completion and due to open later this month.

The man was reportedly carrying out work within the void above a false ceiling in a sports shop at the complex when he fell. Some reports claim that his injuries include a broken back, although we were unable to confirm this.

The incident, which occurred on Monday was reported to the HSE but is not the subject of any on-going investigation.

Vertikal Comment

Most shop-fitters and contractors now use low level work platforms or mobile towers for this sort of fit out work. In fact the massive progress made by push around scissor lifts in the UK in recent years has been down to the high number of accidents reported with step ladder use to gain access above false ceilings.

This accident, which if any of the reports are close to accurate could be exceptionally serious for the person involved, may well have been down to the fact that it was an unplanned part of the job and more a last minute rectification job and any more appropriate access equipment had already been removed.