The 38-year-old employee of M-tech Engineering Ltd was working on the installation of a steel staircase at a building in Convent Street, Nottingham on 15 April 2009.
He fractured two vertebrae in the fall and was off work for almost seven months.
Thomas Long & Sons Ltd was principal contractor, refurbishing the building. M-tech had been contracted to install the staircase. The system of work was developed by M-tech Engineering.
A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the scaffold tower had not been erected to the manufacturer's instructions or industry guidelines; the tower was supported on a platform that was not sufficiently rigid to provide a suitable base; and the working platform was not fitted with adequate guardrails to prevent falls.
HSE inspector Kevin Wilson said: "Work at height should be properly planned and a safe system of work developed with access equipment provided that is suitable for the task.
"The system of work in use at the time of the incident put operatives at risk of falls into the stairwell from the landings, the part installed staircase and from the mobile scaffold tower and supporting platform which did not provide a safe working platform.
"As a result a man suffered serious injuries. It was only chance that his injuries were not more severe as he fortuitously landed on a surface that absorbed the energy of his fall.
"Falls from height are the biggest cause of workplace deaths and it's crucial that employers make sure work is properly planned, appropriately supervised and that sufficient measures are put in place to protect staff from the risks."
M-tech Engineering Ltd of Third Avenue, Greasley, Bulwell, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees. Nottingham magistrates fined the company £8,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £4,000.
Thomas Long & Sons Ltd of Mile End Road, Colwick, Nottingham pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for failing to plan, manage and monitor construction in a way that ensured it was carried out without risks to health and safety. Magistrates fined the company £6,000 with costs of £3,000.
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