Construction company fined £25,000 after worker fall

Sunday 21 March 2021

A construction company has been fined £25,000 by the Royal Court for failing to supervise its employees properly, after two of its workers fell 1.5m onto a concrete floor during a job.

One of JP Mauger's workmen was seriously injured, suffering broken ribs and a head injury, from which he has now recovered.

The Royal Court heard on Friday that in January 2020, the company was undertaking a construction project at a property in St. Martin involving the demolition of a barn, alterations to a farmhouse and a new extension.

Two employees of the company were installing timber joists into the first floor of the property. 

However, the working platform was “poorly constructed” and did not conform to legal standards to provide a sufficient degree of safety. In addition, there was no top guardrail in place, and the stepladder used to access the platform was not attached to it.

One of the employees slipped off the edge of the working platform. When the other moved to assist him, this caused the platform to topple over, with the two men falling 1.5m onto the concrete floor. 

Though the first to fall suffered minor injuries, the second suffered injuries to both his head and multiple broken ribs, and had to spend a week in hospital.

Pictured: One of the employees had to spend a week in hospital.

The employee who was seriously injured has since returned to work, although he occasionally still suffers from breathlessness for short periods, and attends the hospital for monthly check-ups.

It later emerged that the site foreman responsible for supervising the project was absent from the site at the time of the accident.

The company has subsequently reviewed their procedures to try and avoid any recurrence. 

The Royal Court - presided by Deputy Bailiff Robert Macrae, who was sitting with Jurats Pamela Pitman and Steven Austin-Vautier - decided that the JP Mauger should be fined £25,000 to be paid within seven days for the breach of the health and safety law, and contribute £5,000 to the prosecution's costs.