Two employees from a Staffordshire-based interior design company have been injured in an accident at work.
A total of three men were carrying out refurbishment work at a TK Maxx outlet in Hounslow when the incident occurred. They had been pouring concrete into an opening in the first floor of the retail unit which had been left when the stairs and escalator were removed.
However, shortly after the men began to pour the concrete, the temporary propping erected to support the underside of the decking within the opening collapsed. The men then fell almost five metres to the floor below, leaving two of them with injuries, while the third was unhurt.
The employer has already been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), but the injured workers might want to consider an accident claim of their own.
Viv Neaverson, an inspector with HSE, commented, “This prosecution arises as a result of Bridgford's failing in their duty as the company responsible for the temporary work. Whilst they had appointed a structural engineering company to execute the permanent works, they had not appointed a temporary works engineer and, as such, this duty fell to them.”