Pair fined over worker's 20ft fall
30/07/2010
Two brothers have been ordered to pay a total of £25,000 after a demolition worker fell 6m (20ft) through a roof and crushed his skull at a site in Carlisle.
Alan Hind, 28, suffered broke his skull in 16 places, fractured his wrist, damaged a kidney and had three fractures in his jaw when he hit a concrete floor while helping to dismantle an industrial building.
Parts of Mr Hind's brain were so badly damaged in the incident they had to be surgically removed. The employee, from Corrie Common near Lockerbie, was left deaf in his right ear and blind in his left eye.
Jurors at Carlisle Crown Court heard the project controller was Robert Murray, trading as Murray Structures, while his brother Eric was in charge of demolishing the particular building Mr Hind was working on.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Robert, 56, from Annan, admitted hiring untrained workers and failing to ensure work was planned and executed safely. He was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 costs, while Eric - trading as EJ Murray (Steel Structures) - was fined £5,000 with £8,000 costs.
Eric, 54, of Dalton near Lockerbie, was being found guilty of failing to prevent workers falling and being injured at a trial last month.
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