A leading construction company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a two year old child escaped from a collapsed shop hoarding with only minor injuries.
The accident, which happened at a popular Merseyside retail park, occurred when a 17 metre wide shop hoarding fell onto the child who was shopping with his Father and Grandparents, and was lucky enough to escape with just minor injuries.
The retail unit was being newly fitted, and as the shop hoardings had not been designed correctly, it could not withstand the high wind and blew over as the family passed by.
The builder of the hoarding pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the hoarding was properly designed and built, as a result he was given a fine of £4,000 and ordered to pay an additional £6,963 in costs.
The construction company was also fined with £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,273.
Kevin Jones, a HSE inspector, commented “It is important that those involved in construction recognise that temporary works, such as hoardings, are properly designed by competent people and built to an agreed design.”
This illustrates the importance of safety in the work place, and the importance of ensuring that Health and Safety procedures are followed at all times. There are many fall protection systems that can help to ensure a construction site or shop being refitted is safe both for those working there and also the general public.
There are many health and height safety systems a company can incorporate into their sites to avoid liability, such as guardrails, edge protection, eyebolt testing and gutter maintenance.