Car Parts Manufacturer Prosecuted after Worker falls through Floor
A car parts manufacturing company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after an employee suffered a fall at premises in Hawkwell.
The employee, who has not been named, was working for Auto-Plas (International) Ltd and had been instructed to dismantle a mezzanine floor, at the premises of their sister company Benchmark Doors Ltd based in Essex.
Southend Magistrates’ Court was told that the unnamed worker fell backwards through a gap in the flooring and landed heavily on the level below, cutting his right hand as he attempted to break his fall and striking his head as he landed.
An inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who investigated the incident, discovered that the company had not carried out an adequate risk assessment of the work involved and no safety measures were in place to help prevent a fall.
Auto-Plas (International) Ltd, of Main Road, in Hawkwell, Essex, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £2,502.45 after admitting a breach of Work at Height Regulations; they were also instructed to pay the injured worker £200 in compensation.
Last year alone the HSE received 1,300 reports of fall from height accidents that had resulted in a serious injury.
