Construction company fined after worker blinded in fall

Mr Ingram, 55, of Lode in Cambridgeshire suffered facial fractures, cuts and bruising and was in a coma for several days. He was unable to work for eight months after the incident and has since only returned to work on a part-time basis.

His employer Balsham (Buildings) Ltd, structural steel fabricators and cladding contractors, of High Street, Balsham, Cambridge, appeared at Watford Magistrates' court today and admitted to two breaches of health and safety legislation:

Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for which is was fined £7,000
Work at Height Regulations 2005 - Regulation 4(1) for which it was fined £7,000
Magistrates also ordered the company to pay £8832.30 in costs.

While investigating Mr Ingram's fall, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors found that the internal works on the project had been planned and undertaken safely, with a scissor lift provided to enable employees to work at height - the same had not been provided for the external works.

HSE Inspector John Berezansky said:

"Incidents like Mr Ingram's fall are entirely avoidable. Falling from height is one of the most obvious and well-known dangers on a construction site.

"Unfortunately, Mr Ingram is not alone. More than 4,000 British employees suffered serious injury after falling from height in 2008/09.

"A lax attitude to health and safety in one of the more dangerous industries is not acceptable, especially when so many incidents are completely avoidable by taking commonsense actions and precautions. As always, HSE will not hesitate to take action if we find poor practice that is putting lives at risk."