Companies fined £420,000 as child left with fractured skull at luxury hotel

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Three companies have been fined almost half a million pounds after a three-year-old child was left with a fractured skull following an accident at a luxury hotel.

The preschooler was struck by a slate from a roof when she was leaving the Moonfleet Manor hotel in Weymouth, Dorset in 2019.

The three-year-old, who had been visiting the hotel for a swimming lesson received first aid and was later taken to hospital where she was put into an induced coma to stabilise her. She then underwent a two-hour operation to remove fragments of slate from her head.

According to The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the slate had come off the hotel roof and fell approximately five metres before striking the child. The three companies have now been fined a total of £420,000 after being found guilty of a number of offences.

Fractured skull

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.

“Clients and construction companies must always remember their legal duty to keep both workers and members of the public safe. The client, principal designer and principal contractor all have a duty to work together to implement the industry standards to ensure members of the public are safe particularly if a venue is to remain live.”

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident, which occurred in June 2019 found the scaffolding was not fit for purpose because it did not have sufficient measures to prevent items falling such as protective fans, covered walkways or, at a minimum, brick guards around the entire perimeter.

HSE said Moonfleet Manor had ignored requests and failed to put in measures to address an obvious hazard of falling objects coming into contact with members of the public using the busy thoroughfare to the swimming pool.

At a court hearing, the judge said Moonfleet Manor was more concerned about putting convenience of the guests and preventing the hotel from looking like a building site than the safety of their guests.

The roof was being renovated by Rocare Building Services Limited. The company had taken off the old tiles and began replacing them with new slates. But the new slates had been stacked around the roof, leading to one piece falling off.

In October, Rocare Building Services Limited, of Headlands Business Park, Salisbury Road, Ringwood, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,554.78.

Quadra Built Environmental Consultancy Limited, of Kingsmead, Lechlade On Thames, Gloucestershire, was also found guilty of breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

The company had been hired by Moonfleet Manor as the principal designer, in charge of planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase. But the HSE found the company failed in the planning and design stage to properly assess the risks of objects falling from height and hitting people. As a result, the company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs.

And LFH (Moonfleet Manor) Limited, of Manfred Road, Putney, London, was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £143,482.04 in costs.

Companies fined £420,000 as child left with fractured skull at luxury hotel

Three companies have been fined almost half a million pounds after a three-year-old child was left with a fractured skull following an accident at a luxury hotel.

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