BBC NEWS | England | Berkshire | Firm fined after man broke back

Firm fined after man broke back
A company has been told to pay nearly ?4,500 after a worker fell off a ladder and broke his back in an accident which left him wheelchair bound.

Robin Annetts, 54, of Lambourn, Berks, was working alone on a 5.7m (19ft) high ladder at a construction site at New Greenham Park, Newbury, last year.

Perhaps the man jumped, tried to commit suicide, was mucking around, climbing the ladder upside down?
He must have been doing something to contribute to the fall else why would he only get £4500 for breaking his back causing him to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

The Health and Safety Executive took the company to court for breaching the laws and won the case. The company were fined and ordered to pay court costs but Robin Annetts, 54, was only given £4500.
He’s 54 for christ sake, stuck in a wheelchair and won’t be able to live the life that he used to, and what does he get? £4500.
Either the company were guilty or not? Either way, they must have had some sort of liability insurance to cover the event of such accidents?

Something doesn’t smell quite right with this story. The guy breaks his back and gets less than 2 or 3 months salary. Mr. Annetts seems to have been well and truly shafted and let down by the system. The health and safety executive is not only there to provide the law on such matters, but to uphold it and help those who fall victim to those that break it.