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A scaffolding company has been prosecuted after a 16-year-old apprentice joiner was badly injured when he fell from a platform.
Bland Scaffolding Ltd of Old Ship House, Wath Road, Elsecar has been fined £100,000 with £918 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 8(a) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard how the victim was passing roof tiles from the loading bay to a colleague on 06 September 2016 when he caught his foot in a gap between the scaffold platform and the loading bay.
He fell backwards under a single guard rail around four metres to the ground below and sustained injuries including a fractured cheekbone, broken wrist and injuries to his ribs. The apprentice also required 13 stitches for a deep cut above his left eye.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the loading bay edge protection did not include an intermediate guard-rail or toe board.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Trisha Elvy said: "This case highlights the importance of following well known industry guidance to design and erect scaffolding in a safe manner, a fall from this height could have easily been fatal."
(LM/MH)
