John Doyle pays out £16k after scaffolding fall

John Doyle Construction has been ordered to pay out £16,744 after a worker fell from scaffolding at a hotel site on the Liverpool One development.

Gerard Baccino was removing lifting chains from the top of scaffolding when it toppled from underneath him and fell down an embankment.

He fell 6m to the ground, fracturing his pelvis and suffering back injuries

Baccino was unable to return to work because of the "long-term psychological effect" caused by the accident, the Health & Safety Executive said.

John Doyle was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £13,244 at Liverpool Magistrate's Court for breaching the Work At Height Regulations 2005.

Mark Cuff, HSE investigating inspector, said: "John Doyle Construction should have considered the implications of not following the procedures for lifting the scaffolding. Its failure to do so resulted in one of its employees being seriously injured, and it was only by chance that there wasn't a fatality."