Firm fined over scaffolding fall

A construction firm has been sentenced for safety failings after a roofer was badly injured in a fall from scaffolding at a house in Trafford.

Stephen Cartwright fell approximately three metres from the scaffolding, which had no safety rail, at a detached property on Carrwood, in Hale Burns, on 31 May 2011.

The 44-year-old, from Blacon near Chester, landed on a flat garage roof and sustained serious injuries to his right leg, including a dislocated knee and broken bones.

The Health & Safety Executive investigated the incident and immediately served six enforcement notices on his employer New Generation (Manchester) Ltd, stopping some work activities at the site and requiring improvements to be made.

Trafford Magistrates Court was told on Friday the scaffolding was in a poor condition and there were unprotected gaps in the floors and walls, all of which could have led to someone being injured in a fall.

New Generation (Manchester) was prosecuted for three breaches of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 by HSE for failing to properly plan and manage the work, for failing to provide a safe place to work, and for failing to ensure the site was in a good state.

The company, of Sackville Street in Manchester pleaded guilty all three offences. It was fined £3,900 and ordered to pay £4,000 in prosecution costs on Friday 11 May.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Ian Betley, said: "The state of the Carrwood site was an absolute disgrace when we visited it, and we immediately issued six enforcement notices to ensure the safety of the people working there.

"New Generation failed to plan the work properly or to manage it effectively. As a result, Stephen Cartwright suffered major injury and other lives were put in danger.

"Health and safety laws exist for a reason, and if this company had taken notice of them then Mr Cartwright's fall could have been avoided."