Four Employees Hurt In Accident At Work

A lawyer at Irwin Mitchell has called on businesses to not underestimate the importance of supervision and risk assessments, after two firms were fined over an incident which saw four workers serious injured.

Spalding companies J & P Recruitment Ltd and West End Cold Stores were fined £5,000 and £15,000 respectively over the incident, which occurred while the employees were removing insulation panels from a cold store in September 2008.

As they were removing the final few, all four workers stepped onto a single panel which gave way. The four workers fell 3.5 metres and suffered a number of broken bones.

The Health and Safety Executive has stated that an investigation revealed that neither a risk assessment nor proper supervision took place in relation to the project.

David Urpeth, national head of workplace injuries at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Companies should pay full attention to health and safety guidance, particularly in relation to risk assessments and the supervision of staff.

“This case highlights just why such procedures are in place, as the use of them could have played an important role in ensuring that no one was hurt during the project to remove insulation panels.

“We deal with many work accident claims every year and often see the devastating – often life-changing – consequences they can have. It is vital that every effort is made to avoid anything like this happening again.”