Ad
Monday, June 2, 2025
17.1 C
London

U.K. Edition

Bricklayer’s Near-Fatal Fall Results in £12,000 Fine

- Advertisement -

A Shropshire-based construction company has been fined £12,000 after a bricklayer sustained serious injuries in a near-fatal workplace accident. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ordered the company, which was overseeing the conversion of agricultural barns into houses in Telford, to also pay costs of £4,139 at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on 21 July 2023.

Scott Ife, a 30-year-old bricklayer from Bridgnorth, suffered a fractured skull and damage to his facial nerve after falling through a stairwell opening on 8 June 2020. At the time of the incident, Mr Ife was 27 years old and working on a two-storey extension to the property.

The court heard that Mr Ife and a colleague set up a working platform using Youngman boards on the first floor. Due to an unprotected stairwell opening, one end of the boards was left unsupported. 

Tragically, while pointing up the blocks to form the gable walls, Mr Ife lost his balance, fell onto the unsupported boards, and through the stairwell opening. The accident caused him to plummet four-and-a-half metres onto the concrete floor below, leading to a three-day hospitalisation.

The HSE investigation that followed uncovered numerous safety failings by 2 Counties Construction (Midlands) Ltd. These included a lack of suitable controls to prevent falls into the building and through stairwell openings, inadequate planning, poor selection of equipment for working at height, and insufficient site management arrangements.

“This incident could and should have been easily avoided,” said HSE inspector David Brassington. “Work at height needs to be properly planned and managed to ensure that appropriate precautions are used. We are fortunate that the injuries resulting from these failings were not more serious.”

2 Counties Construction (Midlands) Ltd, based in Broomhall, Worcester, pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

- Advertisement -

Popular this week >

NASC Expands into Scotland with New Edinburgh Office and Key Appointment

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has opened...

BSIF Urges Workers to Share Life-Saving PPE Stories

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is calling on...

Star-Studded Line-Up Announced for 2025 Scaffolding Excellence Awards

The NASC has announced that its prestigious Scaffolding Excellence...

Registration Opens for ScaffEx25 at Manchester Central

ScaffEx25, the UK’s leading scaffolding and access industry exhibition...

ScaffPlan Returns to ScaffChamp 2025 with Innovation in Tow

ScaffPlan has confirmed its return to ScaffChamp 2025 as...
- Advertisements -

Related Articles >

Scaffolding Company Hit with £30,000 Fine Over Safety Lapses

A Merseyside scaffolding company has been fined £30,800 after an investigation found workers had been using an unsafe scaffold at a construction site in Merseyside. A.I.M Access Solutions Ltd, based in Kirkby, was prosecuted...

Latest Topics

CISRS Scaffolding Training Returns to Yorkshire with New Wakefield Centre

After years without a dedicated local provider, Yorkshire has...

Star-Studded Line-Up Announced for 2025 Scaffolding Excellence Awards

The NASC has announced that its prestigious Scaffolding Excellence...

Registration Opens for ScaffEx25 at Manchester Central

ScaffEx25, the UK’s leading scaffolding and access industry exhibition...

NASC Expands into Scotland with New Edinburgh Office and Key Appointment

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has opened...
- Advertisement -

Popular Categories