A construction company has been fined after two workers were seriously injured when they fell through a ceiling at a building site in Watford.

On December 6 2017, four bricklayers were working at 107-111 St Albans Road, when a floor at the site collapsed.

Three terraced houses were being built when the workers gained unrestricted access to a timber joisted floor. Suddenly the floor collapsed.

Two of the four men managed to jump to safety but the other two were not so lucky. Both fell, suffering serious injuries.

More than a year later and neither of the injured employees have been able to return to work full-time. It remains unclear whether one of the men’s injuries will be life-changing.

Watford Observer:

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the principal contractor, S McMurray Ltd, had failed to install joist hangers correctly. The HSE also found there was no other structural support in place and investigations also concluded that the floor was overloaded with blockwork.

At Luton Magistrates Court earlier this month, Hertford-based S McMurray Ltd, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13 (1) of the Construction Regulations 2015.

The company was fined £16,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,236.60.

After the hearing in Luton, HSE inspector Rauf Ahmed said: “Structural stability of floors under construction must be carefully risk assessed to ensure the appropriate control measures are in place to prevent collapse.

“This incident could have been prevented had there been a sufficient risk assessment in place and the appropriate controls implemented.”