A Llanelli construction firm has been fined after a worker suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a concrete beam.

The employee, from Carmarthen, was working with a colleague for W A Bowler Ltd on the installation of a beam and block floor at Hillside Care Home in the Uplands area of Swansea on 10 March 2010.

The man, who does not want to be named, was at one end of a 174 kilogram beam, and his co-worker was at the other end. They were using lifting straps to manually hoist the beam into position when the colleague accidentally let go of one end of the beam, causing it to fall downwards and hit the concrete beneath.


The see-saw effect created caused the end of the five-metre long beam he was holding to hit him in the groin and throw him upwards. He suffered a hairline fracture to his pelvis and paralysis to the nerve endings in his left leg.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecutors told Swansea Crown Court W A Bowler Ltd had been contracted by another firm to carry out work at the site.

The court was told that the defendant did not provide suitable equipment for the job to be done safely, which resulted in his employees undertaking potentially dangerous manual handling works.

W A Bowler Limited of Highmead House, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. It was fined £3, 000 with costs of £4, 847.35.

(CD/GK)