An East Anglian Scaffolding company was fined after a worker fell over four metres suffering severe injuries.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard how a 39 year old worker fell from the second lift of a scaffold while it was being dismantled. Mr Hemphill (39 years old) fell approximately 5m. Before striking the ground Mr Hemphill collided with the scaffolding twice before finally hitting the ground below.

He sustained nine broken ribs (left side), a punctured lung, fractured skull and a fractured spleen. He spent five days in hospital and at the time of the accident was expected to have at least 3 to 4 months off work.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the incident which occurred on 23 February 2015 found that there were no guard rails on the area from where Mr Hemphill was working and neither was he provided with a harness and lanyard to clip on with. As a result there was nothing to stop him from falling.

SP Scaffolding (East Anglia) Limited of Gosbecks Road, Colchester, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Work at height Regulations 2005, regulation 6(3) and were fined £8,000 with costs of £3,003.