An event structure company and its director have been fined after an employee suffered severe injuries, including fracturing her back while dismantling an internal steel frame.
iSkate worker Natalie McCreith, 38, was seriously injured while working at Beaverbrook Hotel & Golf Course in Leatherhead, Surrey, on 26 June 2024.
During the dismantling of a temporary structure, a ratchet strap was used to lower a steel beam weighing over 100kg. The ratchet strap was not designed for lifting or lowering loads and failed, causing the beam to fall onto McCreith.
She sustained multiple fractures to her back, a punctured lung and a broken leg and is still recovering following the incident.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that iSkate had failed to ensure that the dismantling of the internal steel frame was properly planned and carried out safely.
iSkate director Neil Munn was on site at the time and made the decision to use the ratchet strap, instructing workers where to stand. He continued with the method even after Ms McCreith raised concerns about its safety.
‘Life turned upside down’
In a victim personal statement, McCreith said: “Since the accident, my life has been completely turned upside down; it’s now the polar opposite of what it once was. I will never live the life I once had or be in a body that isn’t screaming at me all day; I wish I could turn back time.”
iSkate of St Ives, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 16(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, by virtue of Regulation 20(1) and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £6,949 in costs at a hearing at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (28 July).
Munn pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and received a community order with 75 hours of unpaid work to be completed.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Russell Beckett said: “Demolition and dismantling is a high-hazard work activity, but if the work is properly planned it can be carried out safely. This accident has had a devastating effect on Ms McCreith and could easily have been prevented had the right work equipment been used.”
