A Sheffield-based construction and telecommunication company has been fined £550,000 after an employee fell from a stepladder and was impaled on metal piping.
Linbrooke Services Ltd was also ordered to pay the deceased’s family £200,000 in compensation.
Twenty-year-old electrician Matthew Mason suffered the fatal fall while installing a public address system at Bearsden Train Station, Scotland, on Tuesday 5 June 2018.
Mason was attempting to free speaker cabling that had become stuck when he fell backwards from a stepladder onto a section of metal piping that was being used as a handle on a cable drum. The piping pierced his side causing internal injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The prosecutor led evidence over the course of the 14-day trial showing that the company had failed to appropriately plan and risk assess the work and put in place a safe system of work.
The company was found to have failed to adequately identify the risks involved with pulling cables through a conduit at height. This was despite being informed of the problems by a subcontractor in an earlier attempt.
Insufficient measures
Stepladders were unsuitable for the work being carried out and there were insufficient measures in place to prevent a fall from height. The company also failed to adequately identify the risks involved with the use of improvised cable dispensing methods or ensure that the surrounding area was free of material which could cause injury in the event of a fall.
Linbrooke Services Ltd was found guilty of breaches of health and safety and working at height regulations at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on 30 March 2023.
Speaking after the sentencing, Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Matthew Mason lost his life in circumstances which were foreseeable and avoidable.
“His death could have been prevented had Linbrooke Services Limited put in place appropriate planning, supervision, and protective measures to manage the risk of working at height.
“It is well known that falls from height are one of the single greatest causes of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.
“From the evidence heard here there needs to be an increased recognition and rigour within the industry in addressing the risks associated with the use of stepladders.
“This prosecution should remind duty holders that a failure to fulfil their obligations can have fatal consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure.”
