Two workers seriously injured by scaffolding collapse in Blackpool
Posted on 24th April 2023
On Monday, April 3rd, two men were taken to hospital after scaffolding collapsed in Lytham Road, Blackpool.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has opened an investigation into the incident which happened while the workers were preforming building works on a solicitor’s office.
The specific circumstances that led to the collapse of one of the scaffold's elevations are curently unknown, but the consequences for the two injured workers have been awful. One worker has many injuries, including a broken hip, a fractured neck, two broken wrists, and a small brain haemorrhage. The other worker has suffered rib injuries.
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A local radio presenter helped rescue the injured workers.
Sean Ryan, a local radio broadcaster who co-owns Fylde Coast Radio in Lytham Road, saw the incident and rushed over to the scene, where he discovered one of the workers trapped beneath a pile of metal and rubble.
Ben Gratton, who was also nearby at the time, assisted Sean in getting the injured workers to safety.
Sean said “I heard a loud crash and turned around to see a man running from the collapsing scaffold, I then saw the whole thing give way, it was scary to witness."
"I asked the other injured guy where his mate was and he said he's still under the scaffolding! So I made the decision to just go under and help him. Ben was passing by and saw I was struggling to pull him out, so he came over and helped me."
"We dragged him to safety and Ben took off his jacket and put it under the workman’s head which was bleeding quite badly."
"I noticed he had broken both wrists so I placed his hands on his chest and spoke to him to keep him awake he was slipping in and out of consciousness, so I kept talking to him and held his head stable until the paramedics arrived. He was in so much pain, I just kept telling him everything is going to OK."
“It was really shocking and both men are lucky to be alive. I’m just glad I was able to help.”
Ben stated that the workman is “lucky to be alive." He went on to say “It was shocking to witness we saw him trapped under the scaffolding and we just had to get him away before the rest of it gave way."
“He was in a bad way but he's lucky to be alive. We wish him the best with his recovery.”
Statement from the fire and ambulance crews
A spokesperson for the fire service said "Two fire engines from Blackpool and South Shore attended a rescue of a person incident on Lytham Road, Blackpool." "Two casualties sustained injuries when some scaffolding collapsed."
“Firefighters treated the casualties' injuries using trauma packs before placing them in the care of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) paramedics." "Crews remained in attendance for two hours.”
A spokesperson for the ambulance service said “We were called to an incident in Lytham Road at 4.50 pm and attended with two ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, and a senior clinician. Two patients were taken to hospital with multiple injuries.”
Statement from Scaffolding Health & Safety Advisor for SIMIAN
Dallas Cooper, Scaffolding Health & Safety Advisor for SIMIAN, said, “It’s too early to establish the cause of this incident, but generally, collapses can be prevented by sound planning of access provision and consideration of the works that will be carried out.”
Making a claim for Personal Injury caused by Scaffolding
MG Legal’s specialist Accident at Work solicitors have over 30 years of experience in all aspects of construction injury claims, including scaffolding injury claims.
To find out more please visit our Scaffolding Injury Claims page.
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