Building firm prosecuted after joiner falls through ceiling

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reported that a Manchester construction firm appeared in court over safety failings after a joiner was badly injured when he fell through a ceiling. The joiner, 48, from Stretford, had been working on a loft conversion in Chorlton when the incident happened on 21 May 2013.

The construction firm, was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found he had been asked to help install partition walls without any floorboards in place.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard on 29 August 2014 that the company had been hired to carry out loft conversions at two neighbouring properties on York Road. The firm had installed new floor joists but wanted the partition walls to be fitted before the floorboards, so they could be easily lifted up in the future.

The job sheet instructed the two joiners to use boards on the site as temporary flooring but when they arrived they could only find three pieces of wet plywood outside, which were unusable. They therefore had to use some old loft boards to create temporary walkways and kept moving them to reach different areas of the loft.

As the joiners were installing the wooden frame for a partition wall, one of them slipped and his leg went between the floor joists and through the plasterboard ceiling up to his hip.He managed to pull himself up onto the joints but suffered severe internal bruising and continues to suffer from pins and needles to his left hand, caused by possible nerve damage.

The non-BWF member firm, of Oswald Road in Chorlton, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £5,518 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Laura Moran said:

“The joiner was badly injured in the incident but it could easily have been much worse if he had fallen all the way into the room below. The company was responsible for his safety but it failed to take this responsibility seriously.

“As well as the missing floorboards, there was also a large opening for the new staircase without any markings or protective measures around it. Following the incident, the company arranged for temporary flooring to be installed across the whole area. If this had been in place at the time of the incident then the joiner’s injuries could have been avoided.”

BWF Policy Executive Matt Mahony commented:

“There are strict obligations for a company to carry out a proper assessment of the risks ahead of the work starting and to ensure that employees receive the right information and resources to ensure their safety. Whether it is through skimping on costs or through a lack of organisation, cutting corners in on-site Health & Safety is unacceptable.

“Information and resources are readily available from the HSE, and BWF members are able to find risk assessments and additional resources on our website including the BWF's Guide to Health and Safety in the woodworking industry which covers topics such as the CDM Regulations and Working at Height. There is also readily available advice on site installation for products such as windows and stairs."

The safety of your workers is of prime importance. and with HSE recovering costs at a rate of £1000/day for inspections during which a breach is found, BWF has prepared a number of resources to help you mitigate Health and Safety risk such as our Health & Safety Hero initiative and:

– A 12 point ‘Health and Safety: the essentials’ checklist to help prevent you getting caught out and advice on what HSE field inspectors are looking for in our Health and Safety publications.

– As a member you can also ring our Health and Safety helpline on 0844 209 2610.