A London Girl’s School has been fined and ordered to pay all the prosecution costs after one of its teachers was seriously injured in a fall from height in the school’s drama studio.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard how the teacher was conducting rigging and adjustments to spotlights when he fell from the stepladder he had been standing on. A fellow teacher present at the time told how she had turned around to find her colleague unconscious on the studio floor having suffered serious fractures to his skull, along with a broken wrist and elbow.
When the Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident they found that while the school had a health and safety policy that included aspects regarding working at height, the policy was only made mandatory after the incident. In addition to this, the school had an e-learning tool available for teachers and other staff to use that featured a module about working at height safely. This was also made mandatory but only after the incident had taken place.
Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector John Spence said: “If the school had conducted a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the light rigging task and ensured that employees undertook the appropriate information, training and instruction available this incident could have been prevented.”
Sadly this story goes to show that even if you have the correct procedures and training in place, it is of no use if people are not made aware of it. Employers have a duty of care not only to provide the relevant training and safety procedures, but also to ensure that those procedures are put into place and that employees, visitors and even members of the public are protected from unnecessary risks.
If you or someone you care for has been injured in a fall from height or even slipping or tripping over in a public place, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Contact one of our highly trained solicitors today, for free, and let us see how we can help you get the compensation that you deserve. You are under no obligation to continue with a claim if you chose not to do so.