Farming company fined after worker falls from ladder

A farming company has been fined after a worker fell from a ladder sustaining significant injuries.

Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 28 January 2016, an employee of Edge Farming Company was cleaning the gutters on a farm building when the ladder he was working on slipped down the face of the building. The employee suffered a broken arm, shoulder and fractured elbow as a result.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), found there was inadequate control measures in place with regards to working at height. There was no specific risk assessment for the cleaning of gutters even though it was a regular occurrence on the farm and the company failed to ensure that there was appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision. The defendant had also failed to report the accident within the required timeframe.

Edge Farming Company of Wimboldsley Hall, Wimboldsley, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 4 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) and has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,826.74 .

Speaking after the case HSE inspector Rose Leese-Weller said: “This incident could have been fatal. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of work and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers. For example, the work in this case could easily have been carried out using a mobile elevated work platform or a properly designed and erected mobile scaffold tower.

“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
4. More information about working at height can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm