Firm fined GBP 125,000 for construction accident

A construction firm has been fined £125,000 after a worker fell to his death, a source says.

Curot Contracts pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches including failure to maintain a safe system of working, the BBC reports.

Witold Jellen was killed after falling during work on a balcony in an old cinema.

Safety preparations installed by previous sub-contractors which might have prevented the injury had been removed by the company

Neil Bowie, for the prosecution, says a hole needed to be cut which would have required the other contractors to return, reports the news provider.

Instead, the victim and a colleague decided to perform the work themselves.

"Both men fell eight metres – causing fatal injuries to Mr Jellen and cuts and bruises to Mr Cairney."

The sheriff who fined the firm states the lack of crash decks, which are standard safety precautions for work of this kind, is significant and an issue "they should have been aware of".

Britain's construction industry employs 2.2 million people, the HSE claims, but has had over 2,800 deaths in the last 25 years.