Three companies have been fined a total of £420,000 after a three-year-old's skull was fractured by a slate tile which fell from the roof of a luxury seaside hotel.
Quadra Built Environmental Consultancy Limited had been hired by Moonfleet Manor as the principal designer, in charge of planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase. The company failed in the planning and design stage to properly assess the risks of objects falling from height and hitting people. There was insufficient consultation and collaboration between the various duty holders.
Moonfleet Manor ignored requests and failed to put in measures to address a hazard of falling objects coming into contact with members of the public using the busy thoroughfare to the swimming pool. HSE inspector Nicole Buchanan said: “This incident has caused significant injuries and extreme distress to a child and her family; and could have been fatal.