Montracon Limited fined £184,703 after employee falls from stepladder which was not in good condition.

Montracon Limited was fined £184,703 (inc. costs) for safety breaches after a worker suffered head injuries after falling from a stepladder.

The circumstances were:

• Montracon had no ladder inspection regime in place.
• An employee was cleaning the cant rail of a curtain side trailer that had just been manufactured..
• He was using a stepladder which was not in good working order.
• Whilst using the stepladder positioned on top of the trailer to reach the work the employee pulled the steps further down the trailer to clean the next section. 
• As he climbed up the steps they started to wobble 
• This caused him to fall out of the trailer onto the floor, landing on his head.

The HSE inspector commented:
“Equipment used to access work at height should be routinely inspected and checked to make sure it is in good condition and safe to use. This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out a proper risk assessment, implementing appropriate control measures and adopting safe working practices. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”