9:23 am, April 1, 2021
A garage on the Isle of Wight has been ordered to pay out £20,000 after one of its workers suffered serious injuries after falling into an inspection pit.
Portsmouth magistrates were told the GP Motor Works employee had been working on a vehicle nearby when he accidentally fell into the pit, the Island Echo reported.
Part of the pit at the Bembridge garage was covered by a vehicle but a 7ft area had no cover in place and there was nothing there to stop the risk of anyone falling in.
The worker plunged more than 5ft and was taken to a mainland hospital by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, with various emergency services helping with his rescue.
The incident happened in September 2018 but the case has only just come to court.
According to the Echo, the employee sustained life-changing injuries and needed head and shoulder surgery.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation determined that GP Motor Works – which is no longer at the Embankment Road site – hadn’t made sure there were any barriers or pit covers to stop anyone falling into the pit.
The company admitted breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £10,000. It was also ordered to pay £10,000 costs.
Afterwards, HSE inspector Kate Clark said: ‘Serious injuries or death can be prevented if basic safeguards such as barriers or pit covers are put in place.
‘There is clear guidance for garages about vehicle inspection pits.’
Wikipedia image credit: By James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – G-HIOW Eurocopter EC135 helicopter, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61480940
