Southwark Crown Court heard how, on 11th November 2016, sole trader James Gibson was undertaking a refurbishment project when a worker fell through an unprotected hole in the ground floor into the basement below, suffering serious head injuries.
The subsequent investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that failures in management had led to a number of height safety issues on site, including a lack of sufficient edge protection to prevent workers from falling through the three-metre wide opening in the floor.
James Gibson of Brent Street, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay costs of £8,442.
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