Building Company Fined after Work Accident Injury

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Home » No Win No Fee » Latest Personal Injury News » 2014 » 7 » Building Company Fined after Work Accident InjuryBuilding Company Fined after Work Accident InjuryA building company and the director of a roofing firm have been ordered to pay sizeable fines following a workplace accident that led to an employee suffering serious injuries.In 2012, a self-employed roofer had been under the control of John Donald of John Donald Roofing, which had been sub-contracted to carry out work on a building project by Right Angle Ltd.During work on a project in which three residential properties were being refurbished and extended, the unnamed worker was at one point clearing materials from a flat roof.He saw a piece of ply board that he thought was debris so he picked it up. However, the board was actually concealing a roof light void. The man, who was aged 28 at the time of the accident, ended up falling from a height of 5.6 metres.Multiple bones in his back were fractured and broken during the fall, while his thigh, lungs and diaphragm were bruised.The extent of the employee’s injuries meant he could not return to work for more than a year, and he has been left with a persistent back problem that requires treatment in hospital. This means he has had to seek employment elsewhere.HSE Work Accident InvestigationA work accident investigation launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the accident and a number of failings were identified at the building site.The HSE criticised John Donald and Right Angle Ltd for failing to take adequate steps to mark and protect voids in the roof.HSE Inspectors described the measures that had been in place as “totally unacceptable” and warned that many workers on the site could have experienced a similar accident. The HSE also identified a number of other shortcomings on the site, including open staircases without handrails and a lack of edge protection on scaffolding.In addition, excess rubbish and debris on the building site was said to have created numerous slip and trip hazards, while there were various fire risks with insufficient prevention measures in place.The HSE concluded that the defendants had not properly planned, managed or monitored the work, which meant that the accident had been completely avoidable.Right Angle Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and was handed a £15,000 fine in a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The company was also ordered to pay £5,375 in costs.In addition, John Donald admitted breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £4,000, plus costs of £3,695.Danielle Coppell, an inspector at the HSE, commented, “There were numerous failings on the part of Right Angle Ltd that exposed multiple operatives to a host of foreseeable risks, including falls, slips and trips.”John Donald has to accept culpability as an experienced roofer who should have known better. He instructed the injured worker to work in an unsafe area where there were wholly insufficient measures in place to prevent or mitigate a fall.”Ms Coppell added that the consequence of their shortcomings is that a young man has been left with life-changing spinal injuries, from which he might never completely recover.By Francesca WitneyOr Call freephone 0800 884 0321SHARE THIS


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#Accident, #Building, #Construction, #Coppell, #Court, #Executive, #Health, #Regulations, #Safety, #Westminster

I am off to Canberra as a keynote/guest speaker to talk with our Politicians

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Next Monday 14 July 2014 PGARD (Parliamentary Group on Asbestos Related Diseases) have organised a luncheon at Parliament House, Canberra for various party politicians to be present. Also ASEA (Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency) are also supporting this important event to raising awareness about the dangers of asbestos. I have been invited to be a keynote/guest speaker. It is an honour to have been asked and I am looking forward to this event.I will be flying up on Sunday afternoon and staying with good friends for the night rather than an early flight on the Monday morning that could leave me feeling exhausted and a bit short of breath.Our winter weather has well and truly set in today. We were lucky to get above 4 degrees celcius. …


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#Action, #America, #Congress, #Diseases, #Event, #Gold, #Monday, #River, #Safety

The Startling Numbers Behind Motorcycle Accidents

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Every year, millions of motorcycle drivers ride every day without being involved in an accident. While you can ride your whole life and never be in a motorcycle crash, the reality is that operating a motorcycle is much more dangerous when compared to driving a car.Despite some claims by motorcycle enthusiasts that a skilled and properly trained motorcycle operator is less likely to be injured than the average car driver, driving or riding on a motorcycle is an inherently dangerous activity. Consider the following differences between cars and motorcycles.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, reports that out of every 100,000 cars on the road, 13.1 are involved in fatal crashes each year. The NHTSA also reports that out of every 100,000 motorcycles on the road, 72.34 of them are involved in fatal crashes every year. That means that you are more than 5 times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash when driving a motorcycle than when driving a car. For every 100 million miles travelled, cars involved in 1.7 crashes, while motorcycles are involved in 35. If you are involved in a car accident you have a 20 percent chance of being injured or killed. If you’re involved in a motorcycle accident you have an 80 percent chance of being injured or killed. Motorcycle CrashesMotorcycle operators are not only more likely to be involved in an accident, but those accidents also have distinct characteristics that make them more dangerous. They are also more likely to affect specific types of drivers.In crashes involving a motorcycle and another type of vehicle, such as a car or pick-up truck, motorcycle drivers are 26 times more likely to suffer an injury or die as a result of the collision. …


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#Driver, #Highway, #Motorcycle, #Motorcycle-Accident, #Motorcycles, #National, #Safety

Clinical opinion published on use of maternal oxygen during labor

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When a fetal heartbeat pattern becomes irregular during labor, many practitioners give oxygen to the mother. But questions remain whether this oxygen supplementation benefits the fetus or may actually be potentially harmful.A clinical opinion written by third year resident Maureen Hamel, MD, along with maternal-fetal medicine specialists Brenna Anderson, MD and Dwight Rouse, MD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, has been published in the January 10, 2014 online edition of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.The manuscript, entitled “Oxygen for intrauterine resuscitation: Of unproved benefit and potentially harmful,” aimed to make recommendations about the safety of the use of maternal oxygen supplementation in laboring women.According to lead author Dr. Hamel, “Maternal oxygen is often given to laboring women to improve fetal metabolic status or in an attempt to alleviate non-reassuring fetal heart rate patterns. However, there are only two randomized trials investigating the use of maternal oxygen supplementation in laboring women. These studies did not find that supplementation is likely to benefit the fetus and may even be harmful.”Based on their research, the team concludes that until it is studied properly in a randomized clinical trial, maternal oxygen supplementation in labor should be reserved for maternal hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and should not be considered an indicated intervention for non-reassuring fetal status.Story Source:The above story is based on materials provided by Women & Infants Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.


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Mobile compression device recommended to prevent DVT after joint surgery

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Research from The Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education at Scripps Clinic could change how patients are treated to prevent blood clots after joint replacement surgery. A study published today as the lead article in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery determined that after lower extremity joint replacement surgery a mobile compression device was just as effective as blood thinners in preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), but without negative side effects including bleeding complications.The multicenter study, led by Scripps Clinic orthopedic surgeon Clifford Colwell, MD evaluated the efficacy of a mobile compression device that is small and portable enough for patients to use at home for 10 days or longer after joint replacement surgery.”Blood thinners have long been considered the standard of care to prevent blood clots after orthopedic surgery, but they can have side effects that are concerning for many patients,” said Dr. Colwell. “Through this research we have found and established an equally effective means of accomplishing the same goal with an added layer of safety for patients.”Story Source:The above story is based on materials provided by Scripps Health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.


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