Personal Injury Solicitors

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has successfully prosecuted a building company, after a joiner fell through a ceiling at work.

Patrick Moran, 48, from Stretford in Manchester was working on a loft conversion at the time of the incident on 21 May, 2013.

Building company Quaintbrook Properties Ltd been hired to carry out loft conversions at two neighbouring properties on York Road in Chorlton.

HSE investigators found that Mr Moran had been asked to help install partition walls without any floorboards in place at the site in Chorlton.

The firm had installed new floor joists – but wanted the partition walls to be fitted before the floorboards, so they could be easily lifted up in the future.

The job sheet instructed two joiners – including Mr Moran – to use boards on the site as temporary flooring. However, when they arrived to start work on the loft conversion, they could only find three pieces of wet plywood outside, which were unusable.

The joiners therefore had to use some of the old loft boards to create temporary walkways – and had to keep moving them to reach different areas of the loft.

As the joiners were installing the wooden frame for a partition wall, Mr Moran slipped – his leg fell between the floor joists and through the plasterboard ceiling all the way up to the hip.

Mr Moran managed to pull himself up onto the joists, but suffered severe internal bruising. He continues to suffer from pins and needles to his left hand, possibly caused by nerve damage.

On Friday (29/08/14) at Trafford Magistrates’ Court, Quaintbrook Properties Ltd of Oswald Road in Chorlton was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £5,518 in costs, after pleading guilty to one breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Laura Moran said:

“The company did not give its employees any information about health and safety – or carry out a proper assessment of the risks ahead of the work starting.

“As well as the missing floorboards, there was also a large opening for the new staircase without any markings or protective measures around it.

“Following the incident, the company arranged for temporary flooring to be installed across the whole area. If this had been in place at the time of the incident, then the joiner’s injuries could have been avoided.

“The joiner was badly injured in the incident but it could easily have been much worse if he had fallen all the way into the room below.

“Quaintbrook Properties was responsible for his safety but it failed to take this responsibility seriously.”

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Construction Accident Claims

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of no win no fee claims solicitors and can advise construction workers injured as a result of negligence on how to make Construction Accident Claims.

Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of injury in which to make a no win no fee claim for compensation, including claims relating to falls at work, slips and trips, exposure to hazardous materials (such as asbestos) and burns or other serious injuries sustained in a construction accident caused by negligence or breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Construction Accident Claims, contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.