A Bristol scaffolding company has been prosecuted after a worker lost the sight in one eye after a fall.
Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of RJ Scaffolding had to be put into an induced coma for two weeks after falling more than 6m from the scaffolding.
The worker suffered several serious injuries including losing the sight in his right eye and five fractures to the skull.
An investigation by the HSE into the incident, which occurred on 2 June 2016, found the employee was untrained, the supervisor was unfamiliar with standard safety techniques and the appropriate equipment had not been supplied to the worker.
RJ Scaffolding (Bristol) Ltd of Hengrove, Bristol, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It was fined £26,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,657.76.
HSE inspector Ian Whittles said after the hearing: “We want all workers to go home healthy and safe. Those in control of work have a responsibility to ensure safe methods of working are used and to inform, instruct and train their workers in their use.
“If industry recognised safe systems of erecting scaffold had been in place prior to the incident, the life-changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”
