Companies fined after men fell down lift shaft

Three companies have been fined following an incident in which two workers on a building site in Devon suffered serious injuries in an accident at work after falling four storeys down a lift shaft.

Ricki Slocombe suffered a broken back and Matthew Blackmore two broken legs in the accident which took place as the men were working on new student accommodation being built for Exeter University. A wooden platform had been erected over the shaft but this collapsed two weeks into the work causing the men to fall to the ground.

The three companies: Cowlin Construction Ltd, Prestoplan Ltd and Somerset Carpenters Ltd all pleaded guilty to breaching section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were ordered to pay a total of £232,000 in fines and costs. Somerset Carpenters, which was fined a greater amount, had been served with a prohibition notice by the HSE after an inspection at the site had ordered safety measures to be put in place to prevent workers from falling down the lift shaft.

HSE inspector Simon Chilcott, speaking after the hearing, said that contractors and employers must ensure they have taken all reasonable measures to provide a safe environment for their workers and they must ensure that all temporary structures are equally secure.