A Derbyshire-based construction company has been fined after a worker was seriously injured during construction work in Edinburgh.

Bowmer and Kirkland Limited, of High Edge Court, Church Street, Heage, Belper, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005. It was fined £6,600.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court how a worker employed by a sub-contractor working for Bowmer and Kirkland was tasked with pouring concrete onto the first floor of an under-construction building at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park on 16 May 2014.


An employee was walking across a floor that was under-construction when his boot caught and he tripped. He dislodged an unsecured wooden board which had been placed over a void, which had an opening of 2 x 1 metres.

The worker fell around 4.5 meters through the void in the first floor and suffered serious injuries to his back as well as a broken foot.

As a result of his injuries, he was off work for twenty-two weeks, suffers continuing pain and finds it difficult to walk or sit for long periods.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Bowmer and Kirkland had failed to take suitable and sufficient measures by not fixing the wooden panels placed on the void to prevent a fall.

(LM)