Christmas Illuminations Company Fined After Worker Injured in Fall From Ladder

A seasonal illuminations company in Chesham has been fined for safety failings after an employee broke his arm and lost several teeth when he fell from a ladder.
 
Ryszard Zolyniak, from Chesham, aged 44 at the time, was fixing bunting outside a supermarket to celebrate the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when the incident occurred at Chesham High Street on 11 April 2011.
 
He and a colleague from Lamps and Tubes Illuminations Ltd were using a ladder for the job when he slipped, falling five metres to the ground below. Mr Zolyniak suffered five broken bones in his wrist, a lost tooth and a trapped nerve in his leg.
 
Aylesbury Magistrates Court heard today (10 April 2013) that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) established that a Lamps and Tubes Illuminations Ltd director had attended the site and advised Mr Zolyniak and his co-worker to use the ladder - even though two other employees working nearby were using a cherry picker.
 
The use of a ladder was unnecessary when a safer, more suitable way of working was available – as the company made clear in its own written procedures.
 
Lamps and Tubes Illuminations Ltd, of Springfield Road Industrial Estate, Chesham, was fined £5,950 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs after admitting breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
 
After the hearing HSE Inspector Stephen Faulkner said:
 
"Falls from height pose a frequent risk for Lamps and Illuminations Ltd employees due to the nature of the company’s work. So the bunting project should have been better managed.
 
"The company had in place a written set of procedures, which included not using ladders if another more suitable method of working at height was available. However, these were seemingly overlooked on the day of the incident, resulting in painful injuries for Mr Zolyniak that could have been avoided."
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