An accident which resulted in a worker being blinded in one eye
and suffering serious injuries has cost his employer £8,000, the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revealed.
The watchdog said that Gwyndaf Davies was helping to re-roof a
farm building when he fell 3m on to a concrete floor and suffered
multiple spine and facial fractures and a brain injury.
Mr Davies, then 21, was kept in hospital for nine months after
the fall in April 2009 at Penwerddu Farm in Boncath.
He needed facial reconstructive surgery and eye surgery and was
left blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other after the
incident.
Delme L James Ltd, of Pencaer Bryn Ewan, Cynwyl Elfed,
Carmarthenshire, admitted breaching safety regulations regarding
working at height at Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court.
Mr Davies, from Carmarthen, west Wales, has limited speech,
cannot walk without aid and receives intensive physiotherapy and
speech therapy.
He is likely to require significant care for the rest of his
life after the
work accident, the executive said.
He had worked for the company since leaving school.
An investigation by the HSE found the company did not plan,
supervise or carry out the work safely.
There was only limited protection to prevent workers falling
from the roof and no measures to prevent them falling into the
building.