19/05/2010 - Firms fined over worker's fall
A construction company has been fined £5,000 after a worker suffered serious back injuries when he fell more than 3m from a terrace retaining wall.
Graham Parkin suffered a fractured vertebrae and now has long-term disability problems as a result of the fall in the construction site, where there were no guardrails in place.
Illson (Builders & Contractors), from Wharedale, Yorkshire, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 over the incident at the Corn Mill in Burley on November 19, 2008. Illson, which was acting as principal contractor on the site, also pleaded guilty to a charge under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for failing to notify the HSE of the work.
Mr Parkin's employer, Kendall Varley Ltd, also pleaded guilty to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations charge. Kendall Varley Ltd was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,800, while Illson received a fine of £5,000 and costs of £1,800.
HSE inspector David Welsh said: "If HSE had been correctly notified that work on the Corn Mill was going to take place, it could have inspected the site and the injury may have been averted."
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