Wedding guest?s slip brings

Prosecutions and Claims |
15.09.2007

A hotel chain has been fined £12,000 after an elderly wedding guest broke his hip when he fell on unsafe steps.

MacDonald Hotels and Resorts pleaded guilty at Dorking Magistrates' Court to two offences relating to the incident at the Burford Bridge Hotel in Mickleham in August last year.

The man was on his way to a wedding when he slipped on outside steps, suffering serious injuries including a fractured hip. Mole Valley District Council's principal environmental health officer, Chris Lewis, told HSW that there was no documented risk assessment for the steps and they were in a "hazardous condition".

"These were York paving slabs ,and steps like these - particularly when you are descending - look very similar," said Lewis. "The nosings were not clearly defined; they hadn't been painted along the front edge so they merged into one really."

An investigation found there were several large flower pots on the steps which obstructed the pathway and the hand rails were inadequate.

"The steps tapered in width but the first few steps from the top downwards were so wide that if you were to, say, use Building Regulations as a guide, they should have had handrails either side and down the centre line - which is ultimately what they provided," explained Lewis. "All there actually was by way of rails was a very small handrail on the left-hand side as you descended, which it was difficult to reach because of the flower pots. And in fact when you did touch it, it wobbled, so it was insecure anyway."

Magistrates fined MacDonald Hotels - which sold the Burford Bridge earlier this year - £10,000 under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to protect the health and safety of members of the public, and £2000 for its failure to carry out a proper risk assessment contrary to Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Mole Valley council was awarded all its legal costs.

A spokesperson for MacDonald Hotels said that "While this was a very regrettable incident, we are confident that our strong focus in this area will ensure that this type of event does not occur again."

Councillor Tim Hall, leader of Mole Valley council, noted that slips and trips "can usually be prevented by very simple measures" and urged other companies "to take heed of the case and examine their own workplaces to make sure they are doing everything possible to prevent something similar happening."