A roofing firm has been fined £10,000 after a young mental health patient fell from the roof of a hospital, breaking her back and pelvis.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted W Hughes and Son Ltd after finding that the firm had failed in its duty to prevent access to scaffolding on the site.
Preston Magistrates’ Court heard how the firm had been hired to fix a flat roof at Royal Preston Hospital in Fullwood. It had been using scaffolding to reach the roof but hadn’t properly fenced off the steps which led to the scaffolding tower.
The 17-year-old girl was staying in the hospital’s Mental Health Unit in October 2013 and was able to access the scaffolding on the day of the incident. She climbed the steps and fell more than six metres from the roof in the gap that was between the two buildings. In order to free her, the emergency services needed to remove a hospital window and she was in hospital for a number of weeks as a result of her injuries.
Preston-based W Hughes and Son Ltd was fined £10,000 along with prosecution costs of £516 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
HSE Inspector Chris Smith spoke after the hearing. He said: “A vulnerable teenager was badly injured because W Hughes and Son Ltd failed to make sure its scaffolding was properly fenced off.
“Construction firms have a legal duty to make sure construction sites are secure and clearly signed but that didn’t happen in this case.
“It’s vital that companies think carefully about how they plan projects in public places, such as hospitals, so that members of the public are not put at risk.”
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