On the 2nd October 2018 Folkestone magistrates heard that workers for AU Roofing & Building Ltd were working on a roof in Ramsgate, Kent where they were required to carry buckets of material by hand up and down a scaffold access ladder.
Mr Battams, age 31 was unable to maintain contact with the ladder whilst holding the bucket and fell to the pavement below. Mr Battams suffered serious back injuries and was unable to return to work for some time. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that workers had not been provided with basic lifting aids such as a wheel and pulley which would have eliminated the risk of falling.
The Ramsgate based roofing company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety Work Act 1974 and was fined £28,800 and ordered to pay costs to Mr Battams of just over £4000.
HSE inspectors after the hearing concluded that this incident could so easily have been avoided by providing inexpensive industry standard lifting aids. A simple wheel and pulley would have provided workers with a safer way of lifting and lowering the buckets dramatically reducing the chances of a fall.
If you or someone you care for suffers from back injury and you think that it might be connected to previous or current employment, you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation. At Russell Worth we have many years of experience in handling claims involving work-related illness and injuries, and we have experts who are familiar with cases of back injury, and how to get the best result for our clients.
Contact us today and let us see how we can help you get the compensation pay out that you and your family deserve.
