The prosecution of a decorating company after a worker was left with brain damage following the fall has emphasised the need for improved OHSAS 18001 training across all industries.

Liversedge Decorating Contractors, of Dewsbury and two of its directors were fined £1,000 each after the accident, while Foster-Turn-Key Contractors, of Huddersfield, was fined £2,000.

In August 2007, self-employed Trevor Dawson, from Ravensthorpe, was a painter contracted to carry out refurbishment work at the Ashenhurst Student Village in Newsom.

He fell from a ladder, which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) called "unsuitable", sustaining head injuries and cannot remember the incident.

David Stewart, HSE inspector, explained: "It was a domestic step ladder which should not have been allowed on site. In this situation, a tower scaffold would have been much more appropriate."

According to HSE statistics, falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatal injury in the workplace, along with being hit by a moving vehicle or being struck by a moving or falling object.

Posted by Eliot Kemp

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