A contractor in Gateshead has been fined £120,000 after a worker fell down a service riser shaft and sprained his ankles.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Magistrates’ Court heard how Meldrum Construction Services (MCS) was the principal contractor for refurbishment work at a premises in Percy Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
MCS failed to plan for the requirement for temporary platforms to be installed in the service riser to provide a safe work area. Subsequently, temporary floors were installed to specifications for which they had not been designed.
A worker stepped onto the temporary wooden floor on the first floor riser. It collapsed and he fell 4.5 metres to the floor below, spraining both ankles.
An investigation by the HSE into the incident, which occurred on 6 July 2015, found that MCS failed to plan and manage the temporary works within the service riser.
Meldrum Construction Services of Panteon Building, Lancaster Road, Dunston, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,969.
