24/12/2010 - Firm fined over crane ladder plunge
A timber merchant has been fined £5,000 after a subcontractor hired to fix an overhead crane system fell about 18ft from a ladder following an electric shock.
Mechanical fitter David Minor, 63, suffered a number of injuries in the fall on to a concrete floor, Bury St Edmunds Magistrates' Court heard. These included a fractured vertebra, a broken ankle and a smashed heel.
Cambridge-based building and timber merchants Ridgeons Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive over the incident in 2008. It admitted breaching the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and was ordered to pay £4,344.70 in costs as well as the fine.
Mr Minor, of Bury St Edmunds, was subcontracted to do the work at the firm's timber engineering workshop in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was climbing a ladder to access the crane when he made contact with a live conductor.
The conductor Mr Minor touched was the main power channel to the overhead crane. The court heard that it was not properly marked and had not been isolated prior to the start of his work.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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