Counter Assertion

The Dundee Sheriff Court recently gave its verdict fining Discovery Homes (Scotland) Limited and Mr Richard Lionel John Pratt, a director as well as site manager of the company to the tune of £5,000 and £4,000 respectively. The verdict came following the death of an employee, Andrezej Freitag who fell from a shaft at a height of three meters. The shaft was not properly protected by a barrier, which caused the accident resulting in the death of the employee.

The company and the director were booked for violating Section 2(1) and Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They employed barriers usually used for road construction, for work at height, which was completely unsuitable for the purpose. Both the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges of failing to ensure health and safety standards as per the regulations.

According to Murray Provan, Inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the accident was caused solely due to the negligence of the site manager in complying with the minimum safety standards for employees working at heights, as the accident was foreseeable and could have been avoided with better compliance of safety standards. He also suggested that the company was held liable on account of the negligence of the site manager. IOSH courses from Workplace Law Training are designed to give managers and supervisors all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams: click on IOSH Health and Safety for more info.

Mr. Provan extended a word of caution to all companies involved in construction works to comply with the safety standards under the Act in order to avoid risks to the workers, who are engaged in work at heights. This was the second case of this kind in Scotland in the last six years, in which a company director was fined for the death of an employee.