The High Court found no liability on the part of an electrical contractor or a co-operative after an apprentice electrician was seriously injured in a fall from a ladder at the co-operative’s premises outside Monaghan town.
In a judgment delivered on 30 July 2013, Ms Justice Irvine rejected the apprentice’s claims that the ladder was unsuitable, that a caged platform should have been used throughout the work, and that he had not been adequately trained in ladder safety. The court found no negligence or breach of duty, including statutory duty, by either defendant.
The plaintiff had completed two years of his apprenticeship with Lakeland Electrical Limited when he fell on 8 June 2010. He was working with the contractor at premises operated by the Town of Monaghan Co-operative Agricultural and Dairy Society Limited, where cables had to be installed in a roof space above the cream packing room.
The roof space was reached through a ceiling hatch about 12 feet above the floor. The court heard that a forklift and caged platform were used to open the hatch, after which workers used an extendable ladder secured at the top. The plaintiff said the platform was taken away for other work and that he later went up the ladder to untie it while tidying up after lunch. He intended to pull the hatch back into place, but said the ladder slipped as soon as he untied it.
The court accepted evidence from the co-operative’s principal, P.J. Hand, that the forklift and platform could not remain in position because they would obstruct workers. It found the ladder was safe for the task once properly secured and that there were practical reasons to leave it in place until cabling and equipment testing were complete.
The judge also accepted that the plaintiff had received on-the-job instruction and was likely to have had height and ladder safety training during his earlier period with FAS. She found he understood the ladder needed to be secured at the top or held at the bottom before it was used.
The judgment proceeded on the basis that the plaintiff fell immediately after untying the ladder, before attempting to move the hatch. The court found he departed from the employer’s practice by untying it without first having it secured at the bottom, and took on the task without being asked or seeking assistance. It concluded that the defendants were not liable for his injury.