Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how a worker employed by a subcontractor working for Bowmer & Kirkland Limited, was contracted to pour concrete onto the first floor of a building that was under construction at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park, Edinburgh.
On 16th May 2014 The employee was walking across a floor that was under construction when his boot caught and he tripped. He dislodged an unsecured wooden board which had been placed over the void and exposed a two-metre by one-metre opening.
He fell approximately 4.5 metres through a void in the first floor and sustained serious injuries to his back as well as a broken foot. He was off work for 22 weeks and is still in pain two years later.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that Bowmer & Kirkland had failed to take suitable and sufficient measures by not fixing the wooden panels placed on the void to prevent a fall.
Bowmer & Kirkland Limited, of High Edge Court, Church Street, Heage, Belper, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005 and was fined £6,600.
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