25.02.2008

Fall costs over £46,000

Team Q Maintenance Limited of New River Trading Estate, Chestnut, Hertfordshire and Schawk UK Limited, of Shepherdess Walk, Hackney, were each fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,098 at City of London Magistrates Court Yesterday.

Team Q was found guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Schawk UK of breaching Regulation 3(1)(a)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

On 15 July 2005, Kantilal Mistry an employee of Team Q Maintenance, fell around 2.2 metres while carrying out repairs on air conditioning units at the premises of Schawk UK.

There was no fixed means of access or edge protection to prevent falls, Mistry borrowed a step ladder from Schawk UK to access the roof which was not suitable nor safe for the task.

He suffered a serious head injury from the fall which has left him with ongoing health problems and unable to work.

Following the prosecution, HSE inspector Chris Tilley said, "Both defendants were aware of the risks from working at height which had been clearly identified at least a month before the incident.

"No effort was made to ensure that Mr Mistry was supplied with safe access equipment or to prevent him from working. If this information had been acted upon he would not have been injured.”

"Many incidents could be avoided if employers and contractors communicated effectively, identified safe ways of tackling a job, provided all necessary access equipment and contractors were properly supervised whilst on customers'
sites. In this instance there a number of options available to ensure that safe access could have been achieved which would have greatly reduced the risk.”