A construction firm from Cambridge has been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of nearly £6,000 after one of their workers was injured when a skip-loader he was driving turned over and trapped his leg.
Mead Construction (Cambridge) Ltd was connecting a domestic sewerage system to the mains sewer at a property in Haddenham when the incident took place. The worker was driving the skip-loader and tipping spoil onto a spoil heap when the vehicle overturned, trapping his leg underneath the vehicle and causing fractures to his ankle and sprained ligaments.
An investigation by the HSE found that there was a failure to plan, manage and monitor work using a skip-loader and also included allowing an untrained employee to use the vehicle while not wearing a seatbelt.
The upside of this situation is that the worker will probably make a full recovery and be able to return to work, but it could have been a lot more serious. Construction sites are, by their nature, potentially very dangerous; there are all kinds of hazards and machinery which could cause injury or death, and so it seems fairly reasonable that anyone managing such a situation should take certain steps which help to eliminate some of those dangers.
A thorough risk assessment is the starting point during which potentially dangerous situations and machinery can be identified. Simple measures such as planning, training, and ensuring that employees use any personal protective equipment that has been issued to them can make the difference between life and death.
If you, or someone you know has been injured on a construction site, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Employers and managers have a responsibility to protect their workforce, and any visitors to sites, and should have robust systems in place to avoid accidents and injuries occurring. Of course sometimes accidents do happen, but in many cases they could have been avoided if suitable planning and prevention measures had been adopted. Our solicitors have a great deal of experience in handling cases like these, so contact us today and find out how we can help you get the compensation that you deserve.