Two construction firms have been fined more than £1m after a tenant suffered serious injuries when she fell through a fragile surface.
Southwark Crown Court heard how the tenant was injured when, in the process of gaining access to her flat, she fell 5.5m through a fragile cement sheet to the balcony walkway below. She suffered serious injuries including a pelvis fractured in five places.
The balcony walkway was the tenant’s sole access to and from her flat and, although construction workers had been working on it for the previous four days, the tenant had not been informed of the work or of any associated risks – neither were there physical barriers in place to prevent her from stepping into the balcony walkway.
The investigation by the HSE into the incident, which occurred on 19 June 2015, found that Engie Regeneration (Apollo) (previously known as Keepmoat Regeneration (Apollo) Ltd) was undertaking a programme of remedial refurbishment works at the Du Cane Estate in Hammersmith and Fulham, following an extensive refurbishment project some years earlier, and that the top floor balcony walkways throughout the estate needed to be replaced as part of these works.
Engie Regeneration (Apollo) appointed Superior Roofing and Building Services to undertake the refurbishment of the balconies and they started this work in June 2014. In August 2014, it came to both companies’ attention that the balcony replacement work involved exposing, and then working around, a fragile surface, when operatives partially fell through the cement soffit within the balcony.
It was only after the incident in 2015 that the companies put sufficient steps in place to protect workers and members of the public from falling from height.
Engie Regeneration (Apollo) was found to have failed to plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate the balcony refurbishment works to ensure the work was carried out without risks to the health and safety of their operatives or members of the public.
The HSE investigation found that Superior Roofing and Building Services failed to ensure the balcony replacement works were properly planned, and that it failed to select suitable and sufficient control measures to prevent operatives or members of the public falling from height during the works.
Engie Regeneration (Apollo), of Benton Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and has been fined £800,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,518.54.
Superior Roofing and Building Services pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,693.94.
Speaking after the case, HSE Inspector Sharon Boyd said: “This incident could easily have been avoided if the companies had ensured that workers and members of the public were protected. Companies should be aware that they are at risk of being prosecuted by the HSE if they do not do what is reasonable to protect people.”
