EMC Elite Engineering Services Ltd has been fined £52,500 after an employee sustained serious injuries while working at an HS2 construction site in Hertfordshire.
The man, who was employed as a mechanical engineer by the company and was 57 at the time, had been repairing a conveyor at the site on Chalfont Lane when he fell 11m on 20 November 2022.
Stair treads had been removed in the conveyor’s stairway to ensure it could be supported by a crane during the reparation work, resulting in a gap in the stairway.
The worker fell through this gap and landed on the concrete floor below, sustaining a fractured pelvis, skull, hip, jaw and two broken wrists. He spent two months in hospital following the incident, undergoing surgery requiring him to have six plates inserted into his face.
Life-changing injuries
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that EMC Elite Engineering Services Ltd failed to ensure the work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a manner that was as safe as reasonably practicable.
In his victim personal statement, the worker said that the injuries he suffered have had “a massive impact” on his life and family relationships.
EMC Elite Engineering Services Ltd, of Heronsgate Trading Estate, Paycocke Road, Basildon, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £52,500 and ordered to pay £6,871.12 in costs at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on 15 July 2024.
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.”
