Klarius UK Ltd, based at Brookhouses Industrial Estate, Cheadle, Staffordshire, was fined a sum of £8,000 for violating Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 after an employee sustained a fractured and crushed vertebra due to an accident at work.

On 18th August last year, Barry Derbyshire, 61, fell off the edge of a scaffolding tower while working on a routine machinery maintenance procedure. Mr Derbyshire was in a bent-down position trying to uncover the source of an oil leakage when he was caught off-balance and fell over a two-metre drop. This accident caused him to be immobilised for approximately six weeks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSC) launched an investigation and concluded that the company failed to attach a guardrail at the rim of the scaffolding, claiming that it interrupted the pathway of incoming machines.

Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states:

“Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.”

Klarius UK Ltd pleaded guilty for its lack of anticipation with risks concerning work accidents involving height. Along with the supposed fine, the Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court ordered the company to pay an additional amount of £1,892 in costs.

Lynne Boulton an inspector from HSC said:

“Barry Derbyshire did nothing wrong, but as a result of this fall; he’s been left with life-changing injuries. The company had a clear lack of appreciation of risk. If Klarius UK Ltd had used the right equipment and ensured there were guardrails on the scaffolding, it would never have happened.”