Shopfitter is fined £20,000 for health and safety breach

A shopfitter has been fined £20,000 after a worker fell 3ms from unprotected scaffolding.

E&F Joinery, from East Sussex, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey, to three breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, following the incident which occurred on 15 September 2006.

The injured person had been working from a mobile tower scaffold while fitting ductwork for a shop, when he fell 3m onto a concrete floor. He suffered serious head injuries, leading to deteriorating physical and mental health.

Although the worker had not been employed directly by E&F Joinery, they were in control of the work and responsible for planning and supervising it. The tower scaffold did not have the correct edge protection on it, and it was not inspected before use.

Helen Donelly, HSE inspector said: “This case graphically illustrates that work should be planned, and that scaffolding should be checked to have the adequate edge protection.”

Falls from height remain the most common kind of accident resulting in severe injuries.