Home / Real cases / Hillbeck Homes (Sowerby Bridge) Ltd
Sowerby Bridge · Leeds Magistrates' Court
In January 2024 a 24-year-old temporary labourer, in his second week on the job, was working on a residential site where four new homes were being built. He stepped backwards through an opening left for a staircase that had not yet been installed and fell one storey onto concrete. The opening was not securely covered, as loose scaffold boards had been removed, its open edges were unprotected, and there was no alternative access to the sub-floor.
Injuries: The labourer suffered serious spinal injuries, was unable to work for months and has not returned to a physical job.
Work at Height Regulations 2005 (the company was found guilty on three charges, including failing to plan and supervise work at height and failing to take suitable measures to prevent a fall); the page gives no regulation numbers.
“This was a wholly avoidable incident caused by basic failures in planning and supervision.”
Cover or guard every floor opening with secured boards or edge protection before anyone works near it, and check it is still in place as the job changes.
The machines, packs and quizzes that fit this kind of site.