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A construction company has appeared in court after a subcontractor sustained significant head injuries when he fell 15 feet from a temporary platform.
The July 2016 incident happened on a site in Kinross, Scotland. John Niven used a youngman board to access the roof of a new build in an area without scaffolding. Health and Safety Executive investigators said the self-employed builder was standing on the board when it slipped, causing him to fall onto a concrete floor slab below.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that the building contractor, Brebner and Williamson, failed to properly supervise the work at height, to ensure scaffold surrounded the full perimeter of the house under construction, and to ensure a suitable working platform and fall protection measures were in place.
The firm was fined £5000 after it admitted breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.