Football club fined for fall injury
04/06/2010
A £1,350 fine has been issued to Premier League football club Aston Villa after a worker broke bones in his heels when he fell through a roof during the redevelopment of a training ground.
The 34-year-old victim had to take half a year off work due to the injuries he sustained.
He had been one of two contractors from Mechanical Cleansing Services Ltd working at the Bodymoor Heath complex near Sutton Coldfield. He plummeted three metres to the ground through a fragile rooflight.
As an old building was being demolished the company had been employed to drain fuel tanks on a roof.
The man who fell was heading towards a ladder to get down when he fell.
The club, its contractor and Mechanical Cleansing Services' director, Damon Roe, all admitted health and safety offences.
HSE inspector Carol Southerd said: "Work at height can be very dangerous if not properly planned and although the victim's injuries were severe, they could have been much worse.
"If the internal ladder had been used, then this incident would not have happened. A simple conversation with the club was all it would have taken to arrange for the blocked ladder to be cleared."
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