A teenage apprentice was injured in 2023 when a temporary stairwell covering collapsed while they were on top of it
The incident has resulted in Taylor Wimpey being fined by the Health and Safety Executive for £800,000, having found unsafe conditions leading to the collapse.
Charlie Marsh was 17 at the time of the incident, working on a UK Limited site of 450 new homes in Meadfield, Weston-Super-Mare.
The apprentice fell over two metres
Marsh had been working this apprenticeship for less than a year at the time of incident. The HSE investigator’s report stated that he was lucky to not sustain a serious injury.
He was loading concrete blocks, in stacks between 10 and 20, on top of the temporary stair cover. This consisted of a timber sheet over joists filling the space that a staircase will fill later.
It was found that this area collapsed due to the weight combined with the fact that no prop had been put in place for the timber sheet.
Marsh fell over two metres and injured his fingers, hand, wrist, and shoulder.
It was determined that had back propping been used, as it states should be so in the Taylor Wimpey health and safety manual, Marsh would have avoided injury.
The Taylor Wimpey fine is part of a series of recent punishments
In May, the boss of Affordable Lifestyle Design Limited was given a 20 week prison sentence with a two year suspended sentence and 200 hours of unpaid work, as well as order to pay £10,000 in costs.
James Pitsillides was found guilty of failing to manage roof work, leading to employee Stephen Pywell to fall through roof beams from a height of eight feet.
Despite being rushed to hospital, Pywell died from his injuries on 13 May 2019.
About the case, HSE inspector Phil Gratton said: “Every year, a significant number of incidents occur in construction as a result of poorly planned work at height.
“This was a wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure to implement simple fall protection measures. Had the company used suitable work equipment or devised a safe system of work, Mr Pywell’s tragic death could have been avoided.
“Our thoughts remain with his family and friends.”
Regarding Charlie Marsh’s case, HSE inspector Derek Mclauchlan said “Everyone working in construction has a responsibility to ensure people are safe.
“Any work involving structural stability is potentially high risk and proper planning and implementation should be given.
“This incident could have been avoided had the right steps been taken.
“The failures of Taylor Wimpey resulted in a young man at the very beginning of his career being injured. Charlie was lucky those injuries were not far more serious.
“Lessons should be learned.”
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