BT fined for ladder fall death

Monday 10th January 2011

 

On 15th December 2010, BT was fined £300,000 at Southwark Crown Court  following a fatal ladder fall on 27 October 2006. David Askew, a 52-year-old Power Construction Engineer was working at the top of a 7 foot high wooden ladder at London’s Canonbury Telephone Exchange, when he fell and sustained a serious head injury. He died 18 days later.

Judge Deborah Taylor found that BT had failed to provide Mr Askew with a suitable ladder. In addition, staff had been given  manuals that failed to take recent legislation into account. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive uncovered serious flaws in BT’s system of working from height, including failure to properly plan the work. They also found that wooden ladders on the site  had not been inspected annually, as required by the company’s health and safety policy.

 BT plans to appeal against its conviction.

Falls from height are the biggest cause of deaths in the workplace, with 421 fatalities since 2001. They also result in a significant number of serious injuries: for example, there were 4,589 serious injuries of this type during 2008-09. For this reason, both employers and staff should be mindful of the risks of working from height, and be aware of their obligations under the law.

The main point of reference for employees working at height are The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (as amended). These Regulations apply to all industries.  Regulation 6 places obligations on employers to:

• Avoid work at height, if at all possible;
• Take measures to prevent someone falling a distance which may cause injury, if working at height cannot be avoided; and
• Minimise the distance and consequences of a fall by the use of equipment or any other appropriate method, if the risk of falling cannot be eliminated by these measures.

If working at height cannot be avoided, then the Regulations oblige employers and self-employed workers (in relation to their own work or the work of others under their control) to minimise the risks by:

• Properly planning and organising work from height (Regulation 4);
• Minimising the risks of falling from height, or the consequences of a fall if it does occur (Regulation 6);
• Ensuring that anyone who works at height is competent, or is supervised by a competent person if they are being trained (Regulation 5);
• Using the appropriate equipment for working at height, taking account of the working conditions, the distance and consequences of a fall, and the duration and frequency of use (Regulation 7);
• Inspecting equipment such as guard rails, ladders, and working platforms and, in particular, at appropriate intervals if they may degrade or corrode (Regulation 12);
• Keeping records of these inspections (Regulation 12); and
• Controlling risks from falling objects, or working on or near fragile surfaces (Regulations 9 and 10).

Regulation 14 also states that anyone working under the control of another person must report safety hazards. They must also use any equipment they have been given, and ensure they do this in accordance with any instruction or training given on using it safely.

Further guidance on the law on working at height, and the safe use of ladders and stepladders, can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/

Ashfords has experience in dealing with claims related to falls from height, including falls from ladders. If you are an employer, or are facing a claim against you by someone who has fallen from a ladder under control and would like further advice, please contact Flora Wood on 01392 334020.