Water companies fined after personal injury in Cambridge

Posted 05/05/2010

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies that they will be prosecuted if a personal injury occurs as a result of breached safety regulations.

Its warning comes after two water companies were prosecuted following an accident in 2007 in which a man fell through a skylight.

Matthew Morgan had been subcontracted to Anglian Water Services by IETG and was checking a rain gauge on a roof when he crashed through the opening to the ground below.

The victim sustained serious spinal injuries and still suffers from back pain.

HSE inspectors prosecuted and fined both companies for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Penny Leede, an HSE spokesperson, said: “Incidents like Mr Morgan’s fall are entirely avoidable. Falling from height is one of the most obvious and well-known dangers for those working on roofs.”

Statistics from the organisation’s Shattered Lives campaign show that 10,000 people suffered a personal injury after a fall from height at work in 2008-09.