£3,300 fine for flooring firm after worker injured in 14ft fall
It happened while he was working at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park/
A flooring firm has been fined after a worker fell more than 14ft through a hole in a floor, leaving him with life-changing'' injuries.
Steven Stewart was working for Technic Concrete Floors on a new cinema complex at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park in Edinburgh when the incident happened.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard he was walking across a floor under construction when his boot caught and he tripped on May 16 2014.
His foot dislodged an unsecured wooden panel covering a void in the floor and he fell about 14.7ft (4.5m) and landed on steel mesh grids.
Mr Stewart, who was sub-contracted to work for the firm, sustained serious injuries to his back and a broken foot.
The Lancashire-based flooring company was fined #3,300 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to contravening part of the Health and Safety Act.
Gary Aitken, head of the Crown Office health and safety division, said: This was an accident that resulted in life-changing injuries that could have been avoided if the appropriate measures had been in place at the time.
This incident could well have proved fatal and it has irrevocably changed Mr Stewart's life.
Falls from height are usually the greatest single cause of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.
Hopefully this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have terrible consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.''