Uk news
Father-of-three Andrew Clifford remained lying face down on the floor for around six hours before he used to be chanced on by a supply driver. He judged the time by hearing hourly news bulletins from his radio.
Clifford had been working alone installing first-floor joists for the duration of the construction of a residence on Foremost Aspect road in Dronfield. The 51-12 months-former used to be conducting the work on behalf of Paul Freeman Restricted – a Mansfield-based company he had labored with for around twenty years.
The HSE has prosecuted the company for failing to properly knowing work at peak.
On the morning of 31 October 2022 Clifford slipped and fell from the first floor to the floor under and used to be left unable to switch.
He spent as regards to five months in medical institution, with the accidents to his spinal cord so excessive they left him paralysed from the chest down, with only shrimp scurry in his hands and hands.
Clifford mentioned: “The dear thing I recall after my fall used to be touchdown on my head.
“From that level it used to be a in actuality abnormal feeling as from after I landed, I felt no worry and I couldn’t realize why or that I couldn’t stand up.
“My radio used to be on and I judged the time by the news. After an hour, I tried to switch again and this carried on for around three hours. At closing, I realised this used to be excessive and I belief I’d higher discontinuance peaceable as I didn’t want to cause additional accidents.
“This wasn’t the kind of avenue where other folks had been strolling previous and as it began to safe darkish I used to be getting in actuality terrified.
“When I used to be chanced on by the availability driver I heard him yowl out, ‘howdy, howdy, howdy’.
“I consider I fell between 9am and 9.30 and wasn’t chanced on till 3pm.”
He described how being a builder used to be a job he loved and the impact the incident has had on his day after day life.
Clifford mentioned: “I can’t make something else I traditional to admire doing before.
“Straightforward issues admire doing the gardening, washing the car and jobs genuine via the house.
“I can’t even wash or costume myself now.
“I haven’t been upstairs in my residence for the reason that accident – my higher half and three daughters all sleep upstairs and I sleep alone downstairs.
“One other thing that in actuality upsets me is the belief of now not being ready to shuffle my daughters down the aisle when they safe married.”
An HSE investigation chanced on that Paul Freeman Restricted did now not be obvious that work at peak had been properly deliberate and, as such, no measures had been implemented to forestall falls for the duration of the construction of the first floor.
Paul Freeman Ltd of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded responsible to security breaches at Derby Magistrates’ Court and had been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay charges of £6,263.
HSE inspector Sara Andrews mentioned: “My suggestions remain with Andrew and his household, whose lives contain modified dramatically on chronicle of this preventable incident.
“This case highlights the importance of enterprise an intensive overview of the risks for all work at peak activities and the must always peaceable be obvious that, where work at peak can’t be shunned, appropriate control measures are implemented to minimise the threat of excessive injure.
“This is even extra major when lone working.”
