A farming company has had to pay out over £15,000 after a worker fell from a ladder who sustained significant injuries.
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 28 January 2016, an employee of Edge Farming Company was cleaning the gutters on a farm building when the ladder he was working on slipped down the face of the building.
The employee suffered a broken arm, shoulder and fractured elbow as a result.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there was inadequate control measures in place with regards to working at height.
There was no specific risk assessment for the cleaning of gutters, even though it was a regular occurrence on the farm.
The risk of falling from heights or being struck by a falling object accounts for nearly 30% of all farming fatalities, according to statistics.
Stephanie Berkeley, who works at the Farm Safety Foundation said: "Any fall from height can lead to long term injuries and make it difficult to keep on farming."
Failed to report
The investigation concluded that the company failed to ensure that there was appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision.
The defendant had also failed to report the accident within the required timeframe.
Edge Farming Company, located in Wimboldsley, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 4 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
The company has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,826.74.
'Could have been fatal'
Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Rose Leese-Weller said that the incident "could have been fatal".
“Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of work and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers,” Ms Leese-Weller said.
“For example, the work in this case could easily have been carried out using a mobile elevated work platform or a properly designed and erected mobile scaffold tower.
“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”
