"Seriously injured" worker fell from height at Teesworks site

While an incident involving a response from paramedics had been reported at the time, the nature of the incident and the seriousness of the worker’s injuries has only just been revealed.

The steel frame for the SeAH Wind factory is 40 metres in height and has been under construction at the enormous regeneration project near Redcar in Cleveland since September.

After persistent enquiries to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over two months since the accident, they confirmed to The Yorkshire Post a worker fell from a structure under construction and “suffered serious injuries”.

Teesworks refused to comment at the time of the incident, instead referring all enquiries to K2 Construction, the principal contractor on-site. K2 have not responded to multiple requests for comment since December.

According to a spokesperson for HSE, “A pack of roof sheets fell with the injured person puncturing the safety netting and falling to the ground. They suffered serious injuries.”

It is the latest in a series of safety incidents at the site of the former steelworks, with the most recent serious incident occurring in June in an incident that saw two workers injured, with one hospitalised after suffering burns and a broken wrist and leg.

According to a safety report last year to the board of the public body responsible for the regeneration scheme, South Tees Development Corporation (STDC), there were 17 “adverse events” between April 1 and July 15 last year.

Of those 17, five were deemed “significant”, including the incident which saw the worker hospitalised with burns and fractures.

In September 2019 two workers - John Mackay and Tom Williams - died in an explosion on the site. The HSE continues its investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths, having determined in September last year there was “insufficient evidence to support gross or corporate manslaughter charges”.