Firm fined after accident at work leaves employee with burnsRSS Feed

An accident at work that left a worker with burns has seen a Kent construction firm fined.

Dwyer Engineering Services was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay over £14,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.

The case relates to an incident in which 28-year-old Bradley Marsh was left with 62 per cent burns over his upper body when he accidentally struck an unexposed 11,000 volt cable with a jack hammer.

It is thought that Mr Marsh will never return to work and has had his house adapted to enable him to sleep downstairs.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector David Fussell described the accident as "wholly avoidable".

"If Dwyer Engineering Services Ltd had been prepared to spend a little time locating underground services, using signs, maps, and locating devices, then this incident would have been avoided," he explained.

The news comes as the HSE takes its White Van Roadshow to the north-east of England following a spate of fatal accidents.

Accident claims advice from Serious Law

Posted by T B Walters

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