When the ladder wasn’t just unsafe, it was a death trap
What happened?
A man had climbed up a ladder at M Wilson Commercials, a vehicle garage, to reach the release mechanism for a lorry cab in March 2010 in Farington, Lancashire. He fell to the ground when the ladder slipped, causing him to break a vertebrae in his spine. He was still unable to return to work, nearly a year after the incident.
The HSE investigation found the ladder had missing feet at both ends, the bottom rung was damaged and it appeared to have been cut off at the top.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Michael Wilson, the man responsible for the company.
Legal Outcome
At the February 2011 court case, Michael Wilson admitted breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment regulations by failing to make sure the ladder was well-maintained. He was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £2,000.
The investigating inspector at HSE, said: “Sadly, this worker is just one of hundreds of people who are injured every year as a result of falling from ladders. Falling a short distance can still result in someone being seriously injured.”
What can we learn from what happened?
A very short and straightforward case study, with the familiar, recurring theme of the importance of maintaining and using equipment for any work at height job that is not defective. As the HSE inspector said, you don’t need to fall very far to be seriously injured (or worse).
Source of Information
QLM Newsletter
Commercial Motor
The Business Desk