The Health & Safety Executive discovered the state of Thomas Price’s ladders while investigating the death of an employee.
Gethin Kirwan, 35, was installing guttering at a house in Llandudno on 4th April 2013 when he fell from the ladder, sustaining a fatal head injury.
HSE’s investigation found that the ladder provided by Mr Price was unsafe. Although HSE accepted the ladder was not responsible for Mr Kirwan’s fall, it did have a number of serious safety defects which had the potential to cause serious incidents. Two other ladders provided for use on the job had similar critical defects.
With the feet worn and rungs bent or missing, the HSE said that even a cursory inspection made it obvious that the ladder unfit for use.
Thomas Price, who runs a roofline products’ business, had employed Mr Kirwan to carry out the work and was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Wrexham Magistrates’ court on 18th February 2015.
Thomas Price, of Marnel Drive, Pentre, Deeside pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay a further £4,000 in costs.
The court also granted a Forfeiture & Destruction Order for the ladders.
HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said after the hearing: “Although Mr Kirwan’s death was not attributable to the ladder it was in an appalling state and should never have been used. All work equipment must be maintained in a safe condition for use and checked regularly for any damage. For ladders, a quick and simple visual check should be done to look for any obvious defects. The most common and critical issues are worn or missing feet and damage to the rungs and stiles which are very easy to spot.”
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