08.09.2006

Fall costs Bovis Lend Lease £12,632

A prosecution by the UK Health & Safety Executive against Bovis Lend Lease resulted in a fine of £5,000 plus costs of £7,632 against the company. The case concerned a 38-year-old employee of RCG, one its subcontractors, was injured in a fall on 11 February 2005 at a site in Leeds.

Bovis pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court to charges brought by the HSE under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The man fell from an unguarded working area, possibly a scaffold, at the Bridgewater Place construction site, while working on one of the three concrete cores of the building. He shattered his ankle in the fall.

The magistrate said that Bovis Lend Lease was only 20 percent to blame for the accident, with the balance of responsibility lying with the subcontractor, RCG, and the injured worker.

The HSE has also issued a warning to construction companies about the need to ensure that employees and sub-contractors are working safely while at height.

HSE inspector Sarah Hague said: "This case demonstrates all too clearly how anyone working at height is at serious risk of injury if proper precautions are not observed and regular rigorous inspections are not carried out. "In this instance the working platform was unguarded, with disastrous results for the unfortunate employee. A much greater awareness is needed amongst employers, employees, and indeed the public in general, something which has been underlined by HSE's recent nationwide Height Aware campaign."