Electricity charge

Prosecutions and Claims |
01.12.2006

The London Borough of Hackney has been ordered to pay more than £21,000 after a worker suffered an electric shock. In July 2003, Steve Yamoah was working with Geoff Hicks, a qualified electrician, on a streetlamp in London N16. When Yamoah changed the bulb he received a severe shock and was thrown from his ladder. Hicks, who was holding the ladder, also received a shock. Neither man had been shown the procedure for switching off the light using the isolator button, nor had they been instructed on how to carry out a proper risk assessment. Yamoah was in a coma for two days, received severe burns to his hand, fractured his spine and dislocated his shoulder. The council pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and on 17 October was fined £10,000 plus £11,286 costs at Southwark Crown Court.