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Company fined after ladder fall

Friday, August 5, 2016

A malting company based in Suffolk has been fined after an agency worker was injured when he fell from a ladder.

Scarborough Magistrates’ Court heard how an agency worker employed with Pauls Malt Limited at their West Knapton malting factory, near Malton, was injured when he fell approximately two metres from a ladder. He sustained two fractures to his right foot and bruising to his chest and head injuries.

He was in the process of checking the fill level of the malt in a container that he was loading for export prior to closing the hopper feed. The container was fitted with a full-size fabric liner with a high level loading flap which would be zipped up once the container was full.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 6 May 2015 found that the company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the work at height involved in closing the zipped flaps on the fabric liners used to line containers that were being loaded with malt for export.

A system of work had developed which involved propping a 4-metre long ladder against the rear of the container to gain access to the zip-up flap. The ladder was too long for this purpose and was propped at too shallow an angle.  The ladder slipped outwards at the foot causing the agency worker to fall with the ladder.

Pauls Malt Limited (trading as Boortmalt), of Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,257

Source: http://press.hse.gov.uk 29th July

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