Legal spotlight May 22

INJURIES CAUSED by falls from height continue to dominate workplace accident statistics. New figures released by the HSE late last year show that workplace fatalities in Great Britain rose to 142 in the period 2020/21, with falls from height accounting for 25% of all worker deaths over the year. The construction industry also continues to account for the largest share of fatalities last year, with 39 deaths.

Taken together with fatalities following being struck by a moving vehicle and being struck by a moving, including flying or falling, object, falls from height continue as the three main causes of fatal injury, between them accounting for over half of all fatal injuries each year since at least 2001/02.

In February 2019 the All Party Parliamentary Group on Working at Height published its Inquiry Report following industry consultation, in which it made a number of recommendations designed to encourage improvements in the safety of working at height, including enhanced reporting through RIDDOR; the appointment of an independent body to allow reporting of all near misses and accidents that do not qualify for RIDDOR reporting and increased use of technology. 

Those recommendations are still to be progressed, although there have been some improvements, including in the use of technology such as licensed drone pilots to undertake inspection and maintenance of work at height.

However, the recent statistics reveal that more must be done and there will remain concern that the construction sector continues to account for a high number of fatalities.

While the long-term downward trend in workplace fatalities has seen the figures halve over the last two decades, the plateauing witnessed more recently appears to be continuing and will not go unnoticed by enforcement bodies, keen to ensure that duty-holders fulfil their obligations by finding ever more successful ways to manage key workplace risks and thereby reduce the number of serious incidents and fatalities.

Inspections are likely to continue to be informed by statistics. The consequences for those found to be at fault have been well rehearsed, but the prosecution and subsequent sentencing following a fatality in Northern Ireland demonstrates regulators’ commitment to take action against all parties involved in a construction project which it considers have failed in their health and safety duties. 

Contractor CKMR Contracts Ltd was fined £30,000 after its 38-year-old employee Ronan Mulroy suffered fatal injuries at a construction site in September 2016. The principal contractor of the project, Northstone (NI) Ltd, and contractor Paul Braham and Sons Ltd were also fined £50,000 and £10,000 respectively.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) into the circumstances surrounding Mulroy’s death found that he had been struck by a lifting attachment that became detached from the quick hitch of an excavator, owned and operated by CKMR Contracts Ltd. HSENI said steps were not taken by the operator of the excavator to ensure the quick hitch was fully engaged.

The investigation found that a thorough examination of the quick hitch and lifting accessory had not been completed; the operator of the excavator had not received training in relation to the use of excavators for lifting operations; and the risk assessment relied on by CKMR Contracts Ltd was not suitable and sufficient.

Organisations should be mindful of this and of the recent statistics in reviewing their risk assessments. These must be tailored to the business and workforce, and employers should ensure that suitable mitigation measures are put in place, understood by the whole workforce and that adherence is monitored. A culture of compliance must pervade if an organisation is not to fall short in its obligations. The consequences of failure can be catastrophic, both in human and economic terms.

Kevin Bridges is a partner and head of health and safety at Pinsent Masons. For more information, visit www.pinsentmasons.com