Personal injury compensation awarded to mother in scaffolding collapse
07 Sep 2010
A woman who was hurt in a scaffolding collapse at a public show has
been awarded
personal
injury compensation by an entertainment firm.
Sharlene McKenna, 31, had taken her family to Corsley Show and was
enjoying a day out with her children when the accident occurred in
summer 2009.
She was standing with her baby in her arms when a tower behind her
suddenly collapsed, hitting her on her back and crushing her
daughter's pushchair, the Wiltshire Times reports.
Ms McKenna managed to protect the child from suffering any
injuries, but took the brunt of the impact herself and had to be
rushed to hospital with soft tissue damage.
"It was a terrible experience for all of us. Sharlene was taken off
in the ambulance and I was left coping with hysterical children and
an injured dog," said her partner Ben Payne, 38.
A subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
found that Action Entertainments, which was responsible for the
scaffolding and providing stunt men for the show, had failed to
erect the towers safely.
The company was ordered to undergo a safety training programme and
to take steps to prevent further collapses in the future.
Ms McKenna took legal action against Action and has now been
awarded GBP 4,700 in personal injury compensation.
In July, a scaffolding firm from Teesside was fined by the HSE
after a tower collapsed into a public street.
Companies are required by law to ensure that any structures erected
in public places are safe and anyone injured by falling scaffolding
may be able to make a compensation claim as Ms McKenna did.
