Staffordshire company cops £30K fine for worksite accident

A Staffordshire construction company has been fined £30,000 after a worker was injured when he fell into an unsafe excavation.

Winnington Construction of Newcastle Under Lyme was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £12,000 in costs by Mold Crown Court over the accident on 2 May 2006.

David Farrow, of North Wales, suffered internal injuries and a broken pelvis when he fell into an excavation on a site in Rhostyllen, Wrexham where the company was installing a septic tank system.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Debbie John urged companies to better manage their health and safety risks.

“Construction has a significant number of risks to health and safety which need to be managed properly,” she said.

“There was a systematic failure by Winnington Construction to manage the risk on this site, which resulted in Mr Farrow falling into the excavation and receiving quite serious injuries.”