Deeside man fined £4,000 after worker died falling from defective ladders

A Deeside man has been fined £4000 after the The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) discovered he had provided faulty ladders.

Gethin Kirwan 35 who grew up in Deeside, was installing guttering at a house in Llandudno on 4th April 2013 when he fell 40ft from the ladders, sustaining a fatal head injury.

HSE’s investigation found that the set of ladders provided by Thomas Price, who runs a roofline products’ business were unsafe however, the HSE accepted the ladder was not responsible for Mr Kirwan’s fall.

The HSE discovered the ladders had a number of critical safety issues which had the potential to cause serious incidents including worn feet and bent rungs, the HSE said these were very easy to spot, two other ladders provided for use on the job had similar critical defects.

Price from Pentre, Deeside pleaded guilty at Wrexham Magistrates’ Court to breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £4,000 he was also ordered to pay a further £4,000 in costs.

HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said after the hearing:

“Although Mr Kirwan’s death was not attributable to the ladder it was in an appalling state and should never have been used. All work equipment must be maintained in a safe condition for use and checked regularly for any damage. For ladders, a quick and simple visual check should be done to look for any obvious defects. The most common and critical issues are worn or missing feet and damage to the rungs and stiles which are very easy to spot.”