An engineering firm has been fined after a worker suffered a fractured skull and multiple other injuries while working at an HS2 site in Hertfordshire.
The mechanical engineer, employed by EMC Elite Engineering Services, was repairing a conveyor at the site on Chalfont Lane, West Hyde, when he fell 11 metres.
Stair treads had been removed in the conveyor’s stairway to ensure it could be supported by a crane during the work, resulting in a gap in the stairway.
The man fell through and landed on the concrete floor below, sustaining a fractured pelvis, skull, hip, jaw and two broken wrists, according to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). (See below for video.)
The then 57-year-old spent two months in hospital following the incident, which took place in November 2022, and needed surgery to have six plates inserted into his face.
According to the HSE, the individual said the incident had lasting consequences, and that his wife was now having to act as his carer.
“My own behaviours have changed. I am quicker to anger and get easily frustrated. I get very impatient too. My focus has been affected and I struggle to keep up with a task or maintain a conversation,” quotes attributed to him in the inspectorate’s statement said.
HSE investigators found the company failed to ensure the work was properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a manner that was as safe as reasonably practicable.
EMC Elite Engineering Services Ltd, of Paycocke Road, Basildon, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
It was fined £52,500 and ordered to pay £6,871.12 in costs at St Albans Magistrates’ Court, according to the statement.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Paren said: “This incident led to an employee suffering multiple injuries that will affect him for the rest of his life.
“If his employer had properly planned, instructed and supervised the work, then this incident could have easily been prevented.”
