29 January 2009
Jocelyn Dorrell

A self-employed principal contractor who failed to learn lessons after a worker was seriously injured in a floor collapse has been hit with a £16,000 penalty.

In June 2006, Arthur Fletcher was principal contractor and site manager for a project to build a new supermarket in Penclawdd, South Wales.

Self-employed labourer Dorian Skippon was helping to construct a temporary floor on the second floor when a joist collapsed and he fell two-and-a-half metres onto the concrete floor below. He suffered crush injuries to both his heels and spent four months in a wheelchair. He is still suffering the effects of his injuries.

An investigation revealed Fletcher had not provided workers with any fall protection and had failed to identify and control the risks of working at height.

A month after the incident, the HSE made an unannounced visit to the site and discovered unprotected openings large enough for workers to fall through and an absence of guard rails on scaffolding.

Arthur Fletcher, of Swansea, admitted a charge under Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which imposes a duty on self-employed people to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of those affected by their work.

On 26 January, Swansea magistrates fined 66-year-old Fletcher £10,000 with costs of £6257.

Fletcher's solicitor described the incident as "failure of judgment" and said it was a matter of deep regret for his client, who'd had an "exemplary career".

Categories:
Construction, Personal protective equipment (PPE), Risk assessment, Work at height, Risk assessment, Enforcement (prosecutions), Prosecutions, Enforcement (prosecutions)