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The range of cases involving work-related accidents caused by scaffolding falls is wide. We know this well from years of working with clients who manufacture, install or hire out scaffolding, and from representing workers injured in falls from height. At Conesa Legal, we are specialists in work-related accidents. Josep Conesa Sagrera, as a work accident lawyer in Barcelona, has extensive experience handling this type of case. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation to assess your situation.
These cases become more complex when subcontracting is involved in construction works.
The law imposes specific obligations in the construction sector where subcontracting exists, including the requirement to have a preventive appeal in place. See the Labour Inspectorate Technical Guidance.
REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE USE OF SCAFFOLDING AS WORK EQUIPMENT:
Royal Decree 1215/1997 laying down minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers, as amended by Royal Decree 2177/2004 laying down minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers with regard to temporary work at height, sets out in its annexes the specific provisions relating to the use of scaffolding:
4.3.1 Scaffolding must be designed, erected and maintained in such a way as to prevent it from collapsing or shifting accidentally. Working platforms, gangways and stairways on scaffolding must be constructed, dimensioned, protected and used in a manner that prevents persons from falling or being struck by falling objects. To this end, their dimensions must be suited to the number of workers who will be using them.
4.3.2 Where the structural calculation notes for the chosen scaffolding are not available, or where the intended structural configurations are not covered by those notes, a resistance and stability calculation must be carried out, unless the scaffolding is erected in accordance with a generally recognised standard configuration.
4.3.3 Depending on the complexity of the scaffolding selected, an assembly, use and dismantling plan must be drawn up. This plan and the calculations referred to in the preceding section must be carried out by a person holding a university qualification that enables them to perform such activities. The plan may take the form of a general application plan, supplemented with elements corresponding to the specific details of the scaffolding in question.
For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the assembly, use and dismantling plan shall be mandatory for the following types of scaffolding:
a) Variable-level suspended platforms (manually operated or motorised), temporarily installed on a building or structure for specific tasks, and mast-climbing work platforms.
b) Scaffolding constructed from prefabricated elements resting on natural ground, concrete slabs, floor structures, cantilevers or other elements, where the height from the lower support level to the top of the scaffold exceeds six metres, or where horizontal elements span distances between supports of more than eight metres. Trestle scaffolding is excluded from this requirement.
c) Scaffolding installed externally on rooftops, domes, roofs or upper structures where the distance between the support level and ground level exceeds 24 metres in height.
d) Access towers and mobile working towers where work is carried out at more than six metres above ground level from the point of operation.
However, where the scaffolding in question, although falling within the categories listed above, bears the "CE" marking by virtue of specific marketing regulations applicable to it, the aforementioned plan may be replaced by the manufacturer's, supplier's or distributor's specific instructions for the assembly, use and dismantling of the equipment, unless such operations are carried out in a manner, or under conditions or circumstances, not covered by those instructions.
4.3.4 The support elements of a scaffold must be protected against the risk of slipping, either by securing them to the support surface, by means of an anti-slip device, or by any other solution of equivalent effectiveness, and the bearing surface must have sufficient load-bearing capacity. The stability of the scaffold must be ensured. Appropriate devices must be used to prevent the unexpected movement of mobile scaffolds during work at height.
4.3.5 The dimensions, shape and arrangement of scaffold platforms must be appropriate for the type of work to be carried out, suitable for the loads they are required to bear, and must allow work and movement on them to be carried out safely. Scaffold platforms must be assembled in such a way that their components do not shift during normal use. There must be no dangerous gaps between the components of the platforms and the vertical collective fall protection devices.
4.3.6 Where parts of a scaffold are not yet ready for use, in particular during assembly, dismantling or modification, those parts must display general hazard warning signs, in accordance with Royal Decree 485/1997 of 14 April on safety and health signage in the workplace, and must be suitably cordoned off by physical barriers preventing access to the danger zone.
4.3.7 Scaffolds may only be erected, dismantled or substantially modified under the supervision of a person holding a university or vocational qualification authorising them to do so, and by workers who have received adequate and specific training for the operations in question, enabling them to address the specific risks involved in accordance with the provisions of Article 5, directed in particular at:
a) Understanding the assembly, dismantling or modification plan for the scaffold in question.
b) Safety during the assembly, dismantling or modification of the scaffold in question.
c) Measures to prevent the risk of persons or objects falling.
d) Safety measures in the event of changes in weather conditions that could adversely affect the safety of the scaffolding in question.
e) The permissible load conditions.
f) Any other risks involved in the assembly, dismantling and alteration operations referred to above.
Both the workers involved and the supervising person shall have access to the assembly and dismantling plan referred to in section 4.3.3, including any instructions it may contain.
Where, in accordance with section 4.3.3, it is not necessary to draw up an assembly, use and dismantling plan, the operations set out in this section may also be directed by a person whose employer certifies has more than two years' experience in this field and who holds the relevant preventive training qualification, at a minimum corresponding to basic-level functions, as provided for in Article 35(1) of the Prevention Services Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 39/1997 of 17 January.
4.3.8 Scaffolding must be inspected by a person holding a university or professional qualification that enables them to do so:
a) Before it is put into service.
b) Subsequently, at regular intervals.
c) Following any modification, period of non-use, exposure to the elements, seismic activity, or any other circumstance that may have affected its strength or stability.
Where, in accordance with section 4.3.3, it is not necessary to draw up an assembly, use and dismantling plan, the operations set out in this section may also be directed by a person whose employer certifies has more than two years' experience in this field and who holds the relevant preventive training qualification, at a minimum corresponding to basic-level functions, as provided for in Article 35(1) of the Prevention Services Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 39/1997 of 17 January.
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