Brighton Construction has been fined £25,000 plus costs of £15,000 after a man fell 6m down a lift shaft on one of its sites.
David Homewood, 53, from Eastbourne, was delivering a kitchen unit to a new block of luxury flats in Ocean Heights, Roedean Road, Brighton, when the incident happened on 3 November 2009.
Mr Homewood was walking backwards upstairs while carrying one end of the unit while a colleague had the other end. As they reached the second floor landing, he stepped over a roll pack of insulation and fell down the unguarded lift shaft.
Only five months earlier, the contractor had received direction from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to protect any floor openings with guardrails, after a visit by an inspector.
In an HSE prosecution, Lewes Crown Court was told that Mr Homewood fractured his spine and pelvis and suffered bruised lungs. He was in intensive care for six days and was in hospital for four weeks. His walking is now impaired and he has been unable to return to work since the incident.
Brighton Construction Ltd, of Maria House, Millers Road, Brighton, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 at court today (3 March).
HSE inspector Amanda Huff said: "As principal contractors, Brighton Construction Ltd was responsible for the safety of everyone on the site, including suppliers. Erecting guardrails across the lift shaft would have been easy and shows that simple precautions could have prevented this needless incident.
"Mr Homewood has suffered life-changing injuries because simple measures were not taken to ensure the lift shaft was guarded at all times."
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