Industry news
School worker falls through ceiling
Posted Wed, 14 Mar 2012
A school has been fined £7,700 after an employee fell through a loft hatch into the library below, sustaining a broken shoulder blade.
The woman was in an attic adjacent to her office helping a colleague fold boxes when the incident occurred in July 2011.
When trying to exit the area the woman accidentally stepped onto the hatch and fell two-and-a-half metres into the room below, hitting her head as well as breaking her shoulder blade.
An investigation by Health and Safety Executive inspectors found that the school was aware of the potential risk that the hatch posed, Mendip Magistrates' Court heard.
However, no risk assessment was conducted for those working in the attic area nor were any safeguards in place to stop people falling through the hatch.
Wells Cathedral School Ltd, of The Liberty, Wells, admitted breaking the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £7,700 and ordered to pay costs of £2,172.
Copyright Press Association 2012