A Devon-based company has been fined £80,000 after an employee fell through a stairwell while working on a barn conversion.
Timber company Lamisell Ltd employed he 49-year-old driver and warehouse operative. He was working on the barn at the company’s address near Okehampton, on 14 May 2018.
In trying to access the first floor of the barn from exterior scaffolding he jumped onto a piece of insulation covering a stairwell. The insulation gave way and the worker fractured two vertebrae in the fall.
Not properly planned
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the work was not properly planned or appropriately supervised. It was also not carried out in a safe manner when the incident occurred. The company had a duty to control how the work was executed, including staff supervision.
Lamisell Ltd, of Meeth, Okehampton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regs 2005. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,331 at Poole Magistrates’ Court on August 31, 2022. The company must also pay a £170 victim surcharge.
HSE inspector Peter Buscombe said: “This worker’s injuries were serious. This incident could have been avoided if basic safeguards had been put in place.
“Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related fatalities and injuries in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well-known.”
