Employee may sue over accident at work

An employee may take legal action after an accident at work resulted in him suffering broken bones.

In April 2008, Jonathan Holmes was performing his role at the workshop of Sub Surface Engineering when a steel sheet fell on him.

As a result of the impact, he fractured his ankle.

The item was being moved by a forklift truck that had an extension added to it.

Because the device was not fitted correctly, both it and its load fell and the 17-year-old was struck.

During a recent hearing, Andrew Baillie, general manager of Sub Surface Engineering, pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches.

Commenting on the case, Health and Safety Executive inspector Tracey Cartwright said: "Adequate planning of the lifting operation and the use of suitable equipment would have avoided this injury to a young trainee."

According to the organisation, there were a total of around 246,000 reportable workplace injuries in 2008-09.

Posted by Helen Jones