Firm made to pay compensation after woman suffers injuries at home
A company has been ordered to pay compensation to a woman after she sustained injuries while at home.
The 81-year-old fell through a hatch which had been left open while work was being completed on her central heating.
She suffered major injuries to her right upper arm and severe bruising and contusions to her back and legs.
The work was being carried out by Adrian Newth, trading as Perthshire Oil Heating, who was installing an oil-fired central heating system into the property as part of the Scottish Government Central Heating Programme.
British Gas Services, which is part of the Centrica Group, was contracted to manage the programme.
During a recent hearing, it was ruled that the organisation should pay a total of £4,700 in compensation and fines in connection with the incident.
Health and Safety Executive principal inspector Jim Skilling said: "This was a wholly preventable incident, which has greatly affected the householder and it could very well have proved fatal."
