The two maintenance fitters suffered severe personal injuries when the door and supporting pillar of a roller shutter door they were trying to repair gave way.
Workington Magistrates’ Court heard that the incident, which took place 20 April 2009, caused both employees to suffer broken legs.
One of the workers suffered a head injury when a section of the falling structure struck him on the head, splitting his hard hat and cutting his head and shoulder – he was unable to return to work for 15 months as a result of his injuries.
The other member of staff has been unable to return to work and consequently chose to take voluntary redundancy.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) led investigation revealed that the firm had neglected to carry out a suitable risk assessment for the work, subsequently putting employees’ safety at risk.
The company was fined £13,300 and ordered to pay £11,631 in prosecution costs.
A HSE inspector said, “These two workers have suffered major injuries, with long term effects to their lives, because their employer didn’t do enough to make sure they stayed safe.
“One of the workers could potentially have been killed if he hadn’t been wearing a hard hat. Despite this, he still suffered a severe cut to his head and several other serious injuries.
“The work could have been carried out safely by removing the guide for the slats on the roller shutter door so that it could be wound up. However, it wasn’t planned properly in advance due to the company’s procedures.”
Since the accident at work, the company has changed its name.
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