In an accident at work A builder was injured after falling off an unguarded staircase.
In November 2009, David Tourish was working on the building of a new house when the accident occurred. He was employed by the company Walker Group Ltd, and was asked to help a colleague to lift some doors up a temporary staircase.
To prevent anyone from falling down it, this staircase had a gap between the landing and the outside wall that was protected by a guardrail. However, this guardrail had been removed two days before the accident, to allow another worker to fit plasterboard to the wall. The guardrail was not replaced when this work was completed.
As Mr Tourish and his colleague were carrying one of the doors up the staircase, he accidentally stepped off the landing and fell through the unguarded gap to the floor below. He suffered personal injury in the event including bruised kidneys and broken ribs.
The site manager should have realised the unguarded staircase posed a risk to workers, and ensured a safer way of working, concluded an investigation.
The HSE took the firm to court for breaking work at height regulations, and they were fined £8,000.