A Louth man has been fined after a carpenter broke his leg falling from a scaffold in the city.
Self-employed workers Mario Mazzarella was working on a scaffold scaffolding built for him by Helal Panther in the restaurant in Mercer Row Louth, on November 9, 2009, when a bus collided with the structure had been built along of the road, making it fall more than four feet above the ground.
Bus passengers were unharmed.
Judge Andrew Mark, trade, as scaffolds Panther, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure that workers, who erected the scaffolding on the previous day, he worked in a safe manner and that the scaffold was finished a safe structure for the user and vehicles moving through the city.
After the hearing HSE inspector Martin Giles said: "The scaffolding should have been built in a safe manner, and scaffolding should not have stood out over the road at a height where it could be a danger to passing traffic Lack of supply. Suitable scaffolding was caused by inadequate planning before the work in progress and a failure to ensure that the scaffolding was safe before handing it over.
"Work at height remains a major cause of injuries and deaths in the workplace and therefore it is important that, where such work is carried out, then appropriate action planning, monitoring and security are essential. This becomes even more critical when a job involves working in places like the center of Louth, which expose the public about the risks of working scaffolds. "
Judge, 44, of the old road, Scamblesby, Louth, pleaded guilty to violating Regulation 4 (1) (c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 3 (1) of Safety and Health at Work 1974, so today at Skegness Magistrates Court. He was fined £ 15,000 and ordered to pay £ 3,739 costs.