The owner of a Blackpool double-glazing firm has appeared in court after one of his employees was seriously injured in a fall from a ladder.
The 68-year-old fell nearly five metres and landed on a concrete patio after climbing up a ladder to measure a bathroom window on a house in his village. The employee suffered a broken knee and ankle, four broken ribs, a punctured lung and a badly damaged right foot.
The owner was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the worker had been allowed to work alone without anyone at the foot of the ladder to stop it falling.
Blackpool Magistrates’ Court heard the worker has still been unable to return to work due to the extent of his injuries following the fall.
The owner pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to ensure the work was properly planned, adequately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. He was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in prosecution costs.
Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector at HSE, Allen Shute, said:
"Workers can easily be killed or seriously injured in a fall of just a few metres. It’s therefore vital employers properly manage work at height."
Last year, 38 workers were killed in Great Britain as a result of a fall and more than 4,000 suffered major injuries.