West Sussex firm fined over employee accident

A West Sussex firm has been forced to rely on its employers’ liability insurance after receiving a fine relating to an employee injury.

The electrical firm Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after cable installation technician Richard Bradley suffered an accident at a site in Manor Royal in 2007. Bradley, 28, was working on a scissor lift when overhead trays collapsed and knocked him more than eight metres to the ground.

As a result of the fall, Mr Bradley severed his spinal cord and has been left paralysed from the waist down. He also broke all of his ribs and both of his lungs were punctured.

The HSE accused Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd of failing to ensure the safety of Mr Bradley and his colleagues whilst they installed the cable tray systems into a number of new buildings at the site. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £81,927 in court costs.

If employers’ liability insurance was not compulsory for all firms with employees, Skanska may not have been able to afford the compensation payout and so may have collapsed. This would also have meant that Mr Bradley would not have received compensation for his severe injuries.

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