HS2 engineer fractures skull and bones in work fall

The worker, pictured in red overalls, was 11m (36ft) in the air when he fell through a gap in the stairs he was climbing

A man who fell from height at a HS2 construction site suffered a fractured skull, jaw and pelvis.

He was working for EMC Elite Engineering Services in West Hyde, Hertfordshire, when he fell 11m (36ft) through a gap in a stairway, positioned alongside a conveyor belt, on 20 November 2022.

The 57-year-old spent two months in hospital, where he had surgery requiring him to have six plates inserted into his face.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the Essex-based engineering firm failed to ensure work at height was properly planned, supervised and carried out as safe as reasonably practicable. It received a £52,500 fine in court.

The victim fell through a gap in a stairway, pictured above

In a victim statement, the worker said his wife had become his carer.

He added: "The injuries I sustained have had a massive impact on my life and some of these will be permanent.

"My own behaviours have changed. I am quicker to anger and get easily frustrated. I get very impatient too.

"My focus has been affected and I struggle to keep up with a task or maintain a conversation."

EMC Elite Engineering Services, based in Basildon, admitted breaching working at height regulations.

As well as the fine, it was ordered to pay £6,871.12 in costs by St Albans Magistrates' Court.

HSE inspector Martin Paren said: "If his employer had properly planned, instructed and supervised the work then this incident could have easily been prevented."

The incident happened at West Hyde in Hertfordshire in 2022