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Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 015

S Martin – 30 November 2005

Death from Ladder Fall

Recently an electrician working on a contract in North East England was killed when he fell 15ft from a

ladder; he was changing a light fitting and lost his balance at the time the accident occurred.

The court accepted that if a cherry picker or scaffolding been considered for the job, the likelihood of an

accident happening would have been greatly reduced and agreed that there had been a breach of Health &
Safety Law as follows:-

1. Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (not providing a safe system of work).
2. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 ( not using hierarchy of control measure when considering

what access equipment was best suited for the job )

The principal contractor was fined £10,000 because they had supplied an unsafe ladder.
The electrician’s employer was fined £7,500 because they failed to prevent the ladder’s use.

THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS A MAN LOST HIS LIFE WHEN IT

SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO EASY TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF ACCIDENT
Please ensure that you always use the working at height checklist before working at height and

NEVER work from a ladder. MEWP’s are available; all teams have mobile towers and will all

receive Sherpamatic or Sherpascopic safe working platforms when we have completed trials as to
which suits our needs best.

“let’s make sure that we continue to make our sites THE SAFEST by helping ourselves, our colleagues,
our customers and even our competitors by improving training, helping where necessary and addressing
any issues of concern there and then”

If you have any queries regarding the Safety Bulletin content or require further information please
contact any staff member of Xmo Strata Ltd.

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