A construction site manager was fined for safety failings after a worker was injured while working at height on a house build site in Radlett, Hertfordshire. He had used an excavator to raise a site worker to access work at height in order to cut a protruding piece of steel.

The court was told that the manager had left the operator’s cabin of the excavator, leaving the machine unattended whilst the worker continued to use a handheld grinder. The bucket suddenly jolted downwards throwing the worker off balance. He managed to throw the grinder clear and grabbed onto the adjacent wall to stop his fall. Another colleague then provided a ladder to allow him to get down safely.

The worker suffered a number of strain injuries, in particular to his right shoulder.

The Health and Safety Executive carried out an investigation and it found that the site manager had failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others, the excavator was not suitable equipment for lifting the worker and the bucket attachment was an inadequate work platform.

The manager was fined £1,000 and was ordered to pay £3,130 in costs for breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.